Social media post promoting merchandise appears on Shedeur Sanders’ Instagram account during Colorado game

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders delivered another strong performance Friday night, throwing for 400 yards and five touchdowns in a double-overtime loss to Stanford.

Sanders and the Buffaloes have been in the national spotlight since his father, NFL legend Deion Sanders, took over as head coach. 

According to On3.com, Shedeur received the highest name, image and likeness (NIL) valuation among college football players at $3.5 million.

Sanders, like many other college players, uses social media to promote products. But the timing of a post Friday night to Sanders’ Instagram account raised some eyebrows.

Colorado entered the game as an overwhelming favorite to beat Stanford and jumped out to a 29-0 lead. During the game, a link promoting merchandise somehow appeared on Sanders’ verified Instagram account, which has 1.7 million followers. 

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It is unlikely Sanders posted it himself since he was in uniform and playing in a game. It is unclear if the ad was previously scheduled or if someone else posted it. 

The post prompted viewers to click on a link that said “Shop Now.” The link redirected users to a sweatshirt priced at $100.

In the game, Stanford cut the deficit, tied the score and forced overtime. Colorado won the overtime coin toss and elected to give the ball to its offense first. But the Buffaloes lost 46-43 after two overtimes.

“We have no choice but to go forward. That’s life,” Coach Sanders said after the game. “We didn’t expect that. … We can’t sit down and have no pity party.”

The lost dropped Colorado to 4-3, while Stanford earned its second win on the season.