The honour that Sauli lacked in death was far from missing in life. He and his position as cardinal of the Catholic Church were celebrated, both directly and indirectly, in the works of the humanists of whom he was patron. Such patronage, like that of his household, was part of an established and deliberate pattern of magnificence but was not necessarily of such a fixed nature. A cardinal's material patronage of a humanist could range from a one-off payment in the form of money or a gift, the use of a cardinal's library or the payment of the publication costs of a work, to the provision of a place in the cardinal's household, with perhaps a benefice as well. Humanists were considered a positive influence: Cortesi advocated them as famigliari for, amongst other qualities, their more sober temperaments and their usefulness in tackling problems. Whatever the nature of the patronal relationship, it was considered to be of mutual advantage: the humanist could pursue his studies, thus bringing glory to the cardinal's name and the cardinal would in turn improve his own erudition, promote learning and thus his own reputation and honour.

Sauli was part of a long-standing tradition of cardinal-patrons of humanists. He followed in the footsteps of, and was starting to take the place of, illustrious antecedents such as Cardinal Bessarion (1439–73); Cardinal Jacopo Ammanati- Piccolomini (1461–79) and Cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini (Pius iii) (1460–1503).