Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has enjoyed a breakout season in Boulder as the Buffaloes have become a major topic of attention around the college football world this season.
But the timing of a post on his Instagram story generated some online scrutiny Friday night. While Colorado was enjoying a 29-point lead over visiting Stanford, a link promoting merchandise was posted to Sanders’s Instagram account.
It’s likely that the post was scheduled beforehand or posted by someone else, considering that Sanders was fairly busy at the time. But then, Colorado wound up losing in stunning fashion—46-43 in double overtime—further highlighting the timing of the post.
The Instagram stories contained links to purchase a graphic hoodie sweatshirt with text reading “Shop Now.” The hoodie is priced at $100.
This is likely one of the first times a college athlete promoted an NIL item during a game.
Shedeur Sanders' IG account posted links to his web store on his story during Colorado's game v Stanford.
— CleanKonnect (@clean_konnect) October 14, 2023
The link takes you to a store item of a graphic hoodie for $100.
^First time we've seen an athlete's account promote an NIL opportunity mid-game on the athlete's social. pic.twitter.com/11GjUfOLSQ
Sanders threw for 400 yards with five touchdowns against the Cardinal, but his overtime interception opened the door for Stanford to kick the winning 31-yard field goal.
Colorado dropped to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the Pac-12 with the loss, while the Cardinals improved to 2-4 and 1-3 in conference while ending a four-game losing skid.
