On the 17th of March 1987, Emmanuel Niamiah Sanders was born. He plays American Football. His team is the Denver Broncos, who form part of the NFL, National Football League. In 2010, Sanders was recruited by the Pittsburgh Steelers in round 3 of the National Football League draft.

Who are Emmanuel Sanders' parents?

His mother was Stephanie Sanders. In 2011, she died at 41 years old.

Football career

High School

Sanders went to high school in Texas, at Bellville High School. He participated in four sports. These were track, basketball, football and baseball. He performed best in Football. He played First-team All-district at safety, running back and wide receiver. He raked 24 catches in reaching 414 yards, scored a touchdown throwing and 6 rushing touchdowns with a combined distance of 499 yards.

He made 3 interceptions and 49 tackles defending. He earned 7 all-district accolades while he was in high school, including Tri-County offensive player of the year and team MVP in his senior year. Scout.com and rivals.com only viewed him a 2-star conscript. He decided to go to SMU, despite receiving offers from Houston, Kansas, TCU and Baylor.

College

At SMU, Sanders was a starter for 3 years. For his 2 final seasons, Sanders was given All-Conference honours. He made 46 catches, scoring 9 touchdowns with 605 yards in his freshman year. During his sophomore year, he again scored 9 touchdowns, making 74 catches with 889 yards. Making 67 catches in his junior year, with 958 yards, Sanders once again scored 9 touchdowns. He scored 7 touchdowns as a senior, making 98 catches, with 1339 yards. With twenty punt returns, Sanders scored with an average distance of 13.8 yards.

2010

In the 2010 National Football League Draft, Sanders was 82nd to be selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in round 3. Antonio Brown was recruited along with Sanders by the Steelers, Sanders being the first of these 2 wide receivers. Overall, he was 7th out of wide receivers that were drafted.

Sanders was signed for $1800000 by the Steelers, including a $586000 signing bonus, on 15 June 2010. This was a 3-year contract. He strived to earn the 4th wide receiver spot on the depth chart during boot camp, going up against Tyler Grisham and Antonio Brown. Mike Tomlin, Head coach of the Steelers, gave him the 5th wide receiver spot. Ahead of him were Arnaz Battle, Antwaan Randle El, Mike Wallace and Hines Ward. Sanders ended his first season with a total of 28 balls received with 376 yards, scoring 2 touchdowns.

He played 13 games, starting in only 1. With 628 yards, Sanders’ kick returns totalled 25. On Special Teams, his number of combined tackles were 10. or the playoffs, the Steelers had a bye in the first round, as they had a record of 12 to 4, finishing on top of the AFC North. Sanders played his first professional playoff game on 15 January 2011, where he snatched up 4 passes with 54 yards. The Steelers won the game with a score of 54 to 31 against the Baltimore Ravens.

They won the AFC championship match against the Jets scoring 24 to 19. This earned them a spot in the Super Bowl. Sanders participated in Super Bowl XLV on 6 February 2011, where he caught 2 passes with 17 yards. In quarter 2 of the match, he tried to catch a pass of 13 yards, but sustained a foot injury. He was removed from the playing field on a stretcher and couldn’t return for the rest of the game, as his foot was fractured. The Steelers lost the game with a score of 31 to 25 against the Green Bay Packers.

2011

Sanders had an operation on his foot on 4 April 2011. He started the new season as the number 4 wide receiver on the depth chart, with Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace and Hines Ward ahead of him. He missed a few games after an operation on his knee. Inflammation in Sanders’ left foot caused him to miss another 3 games. His total yardage for the season was 288 yards, catching 22 balls and scoring 2 touchdowns. He played 11 games. During a wild card match on 8 January 2012, he received 6 balls with 81 yards. The Steelers lost against the Denver Broncos scoring 23 to 29.

2012

Sanders started the season 3rd wide receiver, with Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace ahead of him on the depth chart. During the second starting game of his career, Sanders snatched 2 balls distancing 40 yards. In quarter 4, Sanders’ leg was injured. The Steelers won the game against the Cincinnati Bengals scoring 24 to 17. Sanders was fined $15000 by the NFL, as they believed he faked his leg injury to get the clock stopped. Never in NFL history, was a player given a fine for a fake injury. The Steelers received a fine of $35000. Sanders caught 44 balls distancing 626 yards for the season. He started in 7 out of 16 games, scoring 1 touchdown.

2013

Sanders was made wide receiver to start, along with Antonio Brown. He scored 6 touchdowns during the season, catching 67 passes distancing 740 yards. He started in 10 out of 16 games.

2014

Sanders signed a contract for $15000000 with the Denver Broncos. The contract was for 3 years, including $6000000 guaranteed and a $3000000 signing bonus. He was made outside wide receiver to start with Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker. At the end of the season, Sanders Caught 101 passes distancing 1404 yards and scored 9 touchdowns. He started all his games. The Broncos received a bye in the first round of the playoffs after ending their season at the top of the AFC West log. Sanders started in his first professional playoff game with the Broncos on 11 January 2015. Distancing 46 yards, he caught 7 balls. The Broncos lost the game 24 to 13 against the Colts.

2015

During the season, he made 76 catches distancing 1135 yards and scored 6 touchdowns. He started in all his games. He returned 17 punts distancing 103 return yards. He was not used as a punt returner again. He was ranked 13th overall as wide receiver. The Broncos again had a bye in the first round of the playoffs, again finishing at the top of the AFC West log.

The Broncos won their game against the Steelers 23 to 16 on 17 January 2016. Sanders Caught 5 passes distancing 85 yards. The Broncos won the AFC championship against the Patriots a week later. The Broncos won the Super Bowl 50 on 7 February 2016, scoring 24 to 16 over the Carolina Panthers. Sanders Caught 6 passes distancing 83 yards, making him the leading receiver of the game. His peers ranked him 74th on the NFL top 100 of 2016.

2016

He caught 79 passes distancing 1032 yards during the season and scored 5 touchdowns. He started in all his games.

2017

During the season, he caught 47 passes distancing 555 yards and scored 2 touchdowns. He started in 11 out of 12 games.

2018

Sanders tore his Achilles while practicing on 5 December 2018. This caused the end of his season. During the season, he caught 71 passes distancing 868 yards and scoring 4 touchdowns.

What team is Emmanuel Sanders on?

Sanders started his professional football career in 2010 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played for them until the end of the 2014 season. In 2015 he joined the Denver Broncos, and is still playing for them today.

Personal life

Sanders lost his mother in 2011. She was 41 years old. He also has 2 sisters, both younger than him. He got engaged in 2013 to Gabriella Waheed. They are the parents of 2 kids, Princeton, who was born in 2014, and Zoie, who was born in 2016.

Net worth

Sanders has a net worth of $6M in 2019.

Facts

• Sanders has 2 sisters younger than him
• He has 2 children
• He has had 2 operations, one in his knee and one in his foot, from football injuries
• His mother died in 2011
• He was the first American Football player in history to be fined for faking an injury