Shedeur Sanders Hires First NFL Agent: Young Money Sports’ CEO

Shedeur Sanders hired his first NFL agent through Lil Wayne’s Young Money APAA Sports, joining the firm that already represents his former teammate Travis Hunter.

The Browns quarterback signed with Young Money APAA Sports founder and agency CEO Adie von Gontard.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the move Wednesday. Sanders had gone through the 2025 draft and the start of his pro career without a playing-contract agent.

The signing gave Lil Wayne’s sports business another client from the Colorado team coached by Deion Sanders.

Hunter joined Young Money for his NFL playing contracts before the 2025 draft, as AllHipHop reported at the time. Jacksonville later picked Hunter up with the second overall pick, and the agency still lists him among its NFL clients.

Lil Wayne co-founded the firm with the von Gontard family. Adie von Gontard started APAA Sports Group, which merged with Young Money in 2017. He is a certified NFL Players Association agent, and the firm’s work spans playing contracts, brand deals and equity stakes in businesses.

Sanders already had a team to help him make money off the field.

He and Hunter worked with SMAC Entertainment before the draft. SMAC helped them land paid brand deals while they were still in college, Front Office Sports reported in April 2025.

Those college deals let both players earn money from the use of their names, images and likenesses. Both still used SMAC for off-field work as they prepared to turn pro. But Hunter had picked Young Money to handle his playing contracts, while Sanders still had no NFL agent.

Their ties ran beyond the field. Before the draft, SMAC CEO Constance Schwartz-Morini told Front Office Sports, “This is a real friendship and family dynamic that won’t end when their time at Colorado’s up.”

Cleveland selected Sanders in the fifth round with the 144th pick in 2025 and announced his rookie signing on May 19 that year. He started seven games in his first season, throwing for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

He has served as Deshaun Watson’s backup this season. Through the Browns’ first five games, the team’s official stats listed Sanders with one pass attempt and no starts.