Travis Hunter had one of the most unique seasons in pro sports history in 2024. He played both cornerback and wide receiver for the Colorado Buffaloes. And he was so good and so consistent at both positions, he won the Heisman Trophy despite a historic season from Boise State back Ashton Jeanty as well.
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In an unprecedented display, Hunter finished tied for second in the nation with 15 receiving TDs on offense while also finishing tied for seventh among CBs in PFF’s coverage metric (90.3) and tied for 11th with four interceptions. That’s why the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to No. 2 to take him in the 2025 NFL Draft. They were filling two holes at once.
As the second overall pick, he signed a four-year, $46.6 million rookie deal with the Jags. That included a massive $30.6 million signing bonus and a salary of $840k as a rookie. However, like every other player, Hunter is eligible to receive performance-based pay (PBP), which is concerned largely with the number of snaps you play rather than the quality of those snaps, per ESPN.
CBA Article 28, Section 5(a) says each player’s playtime percentage is determined by “adding the player’s total plays on offense or defense, as appropriate, plus special teams and (ii) dividing that number by the total plays of the player on the team’s roster with the most combined plays on offense, defense and special teams for that Club.”
This means that Hunter, who intends to play both ways in the NFL and has the backing of his new team in Duval, is in line to receive some major PBP. That is, if he can, in fact, play both ways in the pros the way he did in college. Projecting next year’s PBP pool at about $16 million per team, ESPN’s Dan Graziano estimated that if Hunter led the team in snaps, he could earn anywhere between $300k to $400k in PBP as a rookie.
However, there’s also the fifth-year option and franchise tag to consider. The amount of the fifth-year option is determined by the position of the player. Wide receivers would make about $4 million more than cornerbacks on the fifth-year option this year, and we expect that gap to grow in the coming years. That designation is determined by the position at which the player played the most snaps in the previous (their third) season.
This led some on Reddit to call for Hunter to focus on offense so as to get the most lucrative fifth-year deal: “Sounds like playing WR more during his rookie years is the better move.” One responded that the money really didn’t matter if he was as good as people think he is: “If he’s actually as good as advertised, they’ll play him where he will make the most impact, and they’ll figure out the money later.”
Others suggested that, despite WRs getting paid more, the better move might be playing more CB. One said, “I’d love to see him start at CB and get reps at WR. I feel like that’s the easier move,” while another suggested, “I feel like, in terms of practice reps at least, it would be better to make him a full time CB who also plays WR when needed.”
It’s a bridge the team will have to cross when they come to it. But for now, it doesn’t really matter. The fifth-year option is based strictly on what happens in Year 3, not the previous two years. So Hunter and the Jags have some time to figure out how they want to use their newest weapon.
Hunter has primarily spent time with the offense so far during Jacksonville OTAs. But he has also worked in with the defense at various times. The Jags wouldn’t have traded up if they were against Hunter’s wish to attempt playing both ways as a rookie. And it looks like that wish is going to be fulfilled this year.
