Emmanuel Niamiah Sanders (born March 17, 1987) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the SMU Mustangs, and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft. Sanders won Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos, and also played for the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, and Buffalo Bills.
Sanders attended Bellville High School in Bellville, Texas, where he was a four-sport star in football, basketball, baseball, and track. In football, in which he was most notable, Sanders was a first-team All-District performer at running back, wide receiver, and safety. As a senior, he rushed for 499 yards with six touchdowns, hauled in 24 catches for 414 yards and a score while also throwing for a touchdown. On defense, he recorded 49 tackles and three interceptions. He was named Team MVP and Tri-County Offensive Player of the Year following his senior season. In all, he earned seven All-District honors during his high school career. Regarded only as a two-star recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com, Sanders chose SMU over scholarship offers from TCU, Kansas, Baylor, and Houston.
After graduating from high school, Sanders was a three-year starter at Southern Methodist University under head coaches Phil Bennett and June Jones. He was awarded All-Conference honors his last two seasons.
As a redshirt freshman, Sanders scored his first collegiate touchdown against Sam Houston on September 16, 2006. His game against Sam Houston started a streak of six consecutive games with at least one touchdown for Sanders. He had his breakout game against Houston with nine receptions for 151 yards and two touchdowns on November 11. Overall, he had 46 receptions for 605 yards and nine touchdowns as the Mustangs went 6–6.
On October 20, 2007, Sanders had eight receptions for 155 yards and two touchdowns against Tulane. In the Mustangs' final game of the 2007 season on November 24, he had 13 receptions for 118 yards and three touchdowns against Memphis. As a sophomore, he had 74 receptions for 889 yards and nine touchdowns as the Mustangs went 1–11.
On August 29, 2008, in the first game of the 2008 season, Sanders had eight receptions for 121 yards and one touchdown against Rice. In the following game, against Texas State, he had eight receptions for 138 yards and three touchdowns. On October 11, he had six receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown against Tulsa. As a junior, he had 67 receptions for 958 yards and nine touchdowns as the Mustangs went 1–11.
As a senior, Sanders was very productive. On September 12, 2009, against Alabama-Birmingham, he had nine receptions for 148 yards and one touchdown. In the following game against Washington State, he had 18 receptions for 178 yards. On November 7, against Rice, he had six receptions for 136 yards and one touchdown. In the next game against UTEP, he had seven receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Two weeks later, against Tulane, he had six receptions for 144 yards. In the Hawaii Bowl against Nevada, he had seven receptions ofr 124 yards and one touchdown in the win. He had 98 receptions for 1,339 and seven touchdowns as the Mustangs went 8–5. In addition, he averaged 13.8 yards on 20 punt returns with an additional score, which came in the Mustangs' first game against Stephen F. Austin. He led Conference USA in receiving yards in 2009.
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Sanders in the third round (82nd overall) of the 2010 NFL draft. He was the seventh wide receiver selected and was the first of two wide receivers the Steelers selected in 2010, along with Antonio Brown.
On June 15, 2010, the Steelers signed Sanders to a three-year, $1.80 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $586,000.
Throughout training camp, he competed for the fourth wide receiver position on the depth chart against Antonio Brown and Tyler Grisham. Head coach Mike Tomlin named Sanders the fifth wide receiver on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Antwaan Randle El, and Arnaz Battle.
Sanders made his NFL debut in the Steelers' 15–9 season-opening victory against the Atlanta Falcons. He missed the next three games (Weeks 2–4) as a healthy scratch after the Steelers' coaching staff elected to use Antonio Brown instead due to his added special teams abilities. On October 17, 2010, Sanders caught a 22-yard pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the second quarter to mark his first NFL reception. After Week 9, Sanders received increased playing time after he surpassed Antwaan Randle El on the depth chart and became the No. 3 wide receiver. In Week 10, he caught five passes for 41 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown on a six-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger in the Steelers' 39–26 loss to the New England Patriots.
Sanders finished his rookie year with 28 receptions for 376 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games and one start. He also had 25 kick returns for 628 yards and logged ten combined tackles on special teams.
During the 2010 season, Sanders, Wallace, and Brown became collectively known as the "Young Money Family" or "Young Money Crew," inspired by the rapper Lil Wayne. Within the group, Sanders was sometimes referred to as "Easy Money" since his first initial is "E." The wide receiver trio also dubbed the nickname "Bugatti Boys" for themselves, also after a rap group.
The Steelers finished atop the AFC North with a 12–4 record and clinched a first round bye in the playoffs. On January 15, 2011, Sanders appeared in his first NFL playoff game and caught four passes for 54 yards in the Steelers' 31–24 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round. They went on to play in the Super Bowl after defeating the New York Jets 24–19 in the AFC Championship game. On February 6, 2011, Sanders played in Super Bowl XLV and had two catches for 17 yards before leaving in the second quarter after suffering a foot injury while making a 13-yard catch. He was immediately carted off the field and was unable to return. The Steelers went on to lose 31–25 to the Green Bay Packers. It was discovered that Sanders had fractured his foot during the game.
On April 4, 2011, Sanders underwent surgery on his foot after he continually had issues after he fractured it during Super Bowl XLV. Sanders entered training camp competing against Antonio Brown and Antwaan Randle El for the No. 3 wide receiver position. He was unable to play in the first three preseason games after developing a stress fracture in his foot. He was named the fourth wide receiver on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, and Antonio Brown.
He missed games in Week 9 and Week 10 after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. Sanders missed three more games during the season (Weeks 14–16) after developing inflammation in his left foot.
Sanders finished the 2011 season with 22 receptions for 288 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games and zero starts. On January 8, 2012, Sanders caught six passes for 81 yards during a 29–23 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Wild Card Round.
The 2012 off-season saw the retirement of Hines Ward and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians after the Steelers' opted to not extend him a contract offer. Sanders entered camp as the third wide receiver on the depth chart, but began competing to be a starting wide receiver after Mike Wallace held out due to his contract. Head coach Mike Tomlin named Sanders the No. 3 wide receiver on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown.