Sanders won Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos, and also played for the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, and Buffalo Bills.

[2] In football, in which he was most notable, Sanders was a first-team All-District performer at running back, wide receiver, and safety.

[3] 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.

[4] After graduating from high school, Sanders was a three-year starter at Southern Methodist University under head coaches Phil Bennett and June Jones.

[34][35] Throughout training camp, he competed for the fourth wide receiver position on the depth chart against Antonio Brown and Tyler Grisham.

[38] 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.

[39] On October 17, 2010, Sanders caught a 22-yard pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the second quarter to mark his first NFL reception.

[40] After Week 9, Sanders received increased playing time after he surpassed Antwaan Randle El on the depth chart and became the No.

[46] 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.

[51] On April 4, 2011, Sanders underwent surgery on his foot after he continually had issues after he fractured it during Super Bowl XLV.

[53] He was named the fourth wide receiver on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, and Antonio Brown.

[56] 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.

[57] 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.

[69] On April 10, 2013, Sanders officially signed his offer sheet from the New England Patriots and the Steelers were given five days to match.

He received offers from the New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and also had a visit planned with the San Francisco 49ers.

Head coach John Fox named him the starting outside wide receiver alongside Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker in the slot.

[78] In Week 3, Sanders caught a season-high 11 passes for 149 receiving yards in the Broncos' 26–20 overtime loss at the Seattle Seahawks.

[80] The following week, Sanders caught nine passes for 120 yards and a career-high three touchdown receptions in the Broncos' 35–21 win against the San Diego Chargers.

[85] On January 11, 2015, Sanders started his first NFL playoff game and caught seven passes for 46 yards as the Broncos lost 24–13 to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Divisional Round.

[88] Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison named Sanders and Demaryius Thomas as the starting wide receivers to begin the regular season.

[89] On December 20, 2015, Sanders made ten catches for a career-high 181 receiving yards and a touchdown in a 34–27 loss to his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[92][93] On January 17, 2016, Sanders started in the AFC Divisional Round and recorded five receptions for 85 yards during the Broncos' 23–16 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On February 7, 2016, Sanders led all receivers in both teams with six receptions for 83 yards as the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24–10 to win Super Bowl 50.

On November 27, 2016, Sanders recorded seven catches for a season-high 172 receiving yards and a touchdown as the Broncos were defeated 30–27 by the Kansas City Chiefs.

[102] New head coach Vance Joseph retained Sanders and Demaryius Thomas as the starting wide receivers to begin the regular season.

In his single season under offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, Sanders experienced career lows since arriving in Denver.

[114] In the next game against the Chicago Bears, Sanders caught 11 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown along with a two-point conversion as the Broncos lost 16–14.

[122] Sanders helped the 49ers reach Super Bowl LIV after defeating the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers in the playoffs.

[126][127] In Week 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football, Sanders recorded a career-high 12 receptions for 122 yards during the 30–27 overtime win.

[135][136][137] Sanders announced his retirement on September 7, 2022, as an honorary member of the Broncos who he had won Super Bowl 50 with in 2016 and where he spent most of his career.