Travis Hunter certainly has plenty to dance about this week. The 22-year-old self-proclaimed ‘unicorn’ recently announced that his wife, Leanna Lenee, had given birth to their first child. And on Sunday, the Heisman winner will make his NFL debut after being the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Advertisement
Even though he’s yet to play a snap of professional football, Hunter is already proving to be one of the most famous faces in the league. Thanks to his healthy endorsement portfolio, in addition to his four-year rookie deal that included a benchmark signing bonus of more than $30.5 million, Hunter will have no problem providing for his little one.
Shortly after winning the Heisman last December, he managed to sign a multi-year $3.2-million deal with Adidas, which now has him grooving along to Deniece Williams’ Let’s Hear It for the Boys alongside his star quarterback, Trevor Lawrence.
The dance video promotion is one of the many high points in Hunter’s life in the past months, capped off by the birth of his child. When his former coach and NFL Hall of Famer, Deion Sanders, was given the good news, he was elated. Coach Prime reflected on the journey that both he and Hunter have been on in the past few years.
View this post on Instagram
“I love him to life. I love him like he’s a son,” the Buffaloes head coach explained. “It’s funny when your son is now a father, so that’s why I had to really step back. It’s a beautiful thing.”
In terms of fatherly advice, Sanders kept it simple. He reminded Hunter about the added level of responsibility and discipline that is required to find success as a parent.
“Let’s correct all the things that we purposely think that we didn’t receive as a child. Let’s correct that in fatherhood. No matter what happens in life, let’s make sure we’re the best darn father that ever walked,” said Sanders.
Now that the child is born, Hunter can fully focus on receiving his first touchdown pass from Lawrence. Suffice it to say, this season is certainly shaping up to be one of the most exciting in recent history for both Hunter and the Jaguars’ fans.
After the franchise managed to strike gold with Brian Thomas Jr., there’s a renewed sense of hope surrounding this Jacksonville offense. The team hasn’t finished inside the top 10 in terms of scoring since 2022, and they barely made the cut.
The explosiveness of Thomas, along with the meta-breaking potential of Hunter and the availability of Lawrence, has Jacksonville thinking that this could be their first double-digit win season since 2017. If that happens, it would also be just their fourth since the turn of the century.
Something exciting is brewing down south, and unless C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans have anything to say about it, then the Jags may be able to waltz right into a playoff spot after all. The Jaguars open their season against the Panthers at EverBank Stadium on Sunday (at 1 p.m. ET).
