Shilo Sanders

Shilo D. Sanders (born February 9, 2000) is an American football safety for the Colorado Buffaloes. He previously played for the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Jackson State Tigers. Sanders is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback and Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders.

Early life and high school
Sanders' hometown is Canton, Texas and he attended Trinity Christian High School. In his high school career he recorded 24 tackles, one pass deflection, five interceptions, and a fumble recovery. Sanders also played on offense where he rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown, and hauled in 13 receptions for 199 yards and three touchdowns. Sanders would decide to commit to play college football at the University of South Carolina over offers from 14 other schools.

South Carolina
In Sanders first season with the Gamecocks in 2019, he posted two tackles and a fumble recovery. In week four of the 2020 season, Sanders had a breakout game making ten tackles in a win over Auburn. Sanders finished the shortend 2020 season with 32 tackles with one going for a loss, and a pass deflection. After the conclusion of the 2020 season, Sanders announced that he had decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Jackson State
Sanders would decide to transfer to Jackson State to continue out his collegiate career. In Sanders' first season with the Tigers in 2021 he notched 39 tackles, seven pass deflections, two forced fumble, and four interceptions which was tied for second in the SWAC. For his performance on the season, Sanders was named Second Team All-SWAC. In Sanders second season in 2022, he suffered an ACL injury which caused him to only play in seven games, where he recorded 20 tackles and an interception. After the conclusion of the 2022 season, Sanders would again enter the NCAA transfer portal for the second time in his career.

Colorado
Sanders would decide to transfer to play out the rest of his career at Colorado. In his debut, he tallied ten tackles and helped the Buffaloes upset #17 TCU. In week three, Sanders had an 80 yard pick-six for Colorado's first score of the game and forced a fumble, helping Colorado beat their rival Colorado State.

Personal life
Sanders' younger brother, Shedeur, played football at Jackson State with Shilo from 2021-2022. They transferred to Colorado to join their father.

Pursuant to an October 2016 Dallas District Court lawsuit, Sanders slammed his elbow into John Darjean’s chest and continued to hit Darjean after he fell, after a dispute arose over Sander's cell phone usage. That case went to trial in 2022, but Sanders did not appear for the trial, according to Darjean’s filing. Still, the trial court found Sander's actions were the proximate cause of John Darjean’s injuries/damages and a substantial factor in bringing about the physical and mental injuries sustained by John Darjean. As such, the Court ruled Sanders committed assault and battery, and the state court ruled he should pay Darjean $11.89 million.

In October 2023, Sanders filed for bankruptcy, declaring Sanders had $11.3 million in liabilities, including the court judgment against him. It also said Sanders had $478,000 in assets, including a 2023 Mercedes valued at $75,900 and necklaces valued at $75,000. His attorney then amended the value of his assets in December 2023 to about $320,000 and removed the necklaces from the list, saying they were on loan pursuant to an NIL deal with Saki Diamonds. Darjean is currently contesting the bankruptcy filing, alleging Sanders transferred funds received from NIL deals to his company, Big 21, LLC, as a way to keep it out of his reach. Sanders has admitted he did not disclose several social media NIL deals and that he is the sole owner of Big 21 LLC and SS21 LLC, but he denied improperly failing to disclose contracts with those companies related to NIL.