Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stands with Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter after he is selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars as the number two pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jaguars' Travis Hunter Reacts to Record-Breaking Contract

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Jacksonville Jaguars' star rookie Travis Hunter still has the football. Now, he has his first NFL contract to go along with it.

In the moments after Hunter officially signed his rookie deal with the Jaguars, the No. 2 pick was seen holding the infamous football he nabbed from the Jaguars' brass on his first day as a Jaguar in April. With a big smile, Hunter then let everyone know how he feels about being under contract.

"What's up Duval, it's your boy Travis Hunter,” Hunter said in a social media post by the Jaguars. “We're officially locked in. Just signed the contract, so let's get started."

Still got the football in his hands.@Shift4 | #DUUUVAL
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) June 22, 2025

Hunter is set to play both wide receiver and cornerback for the Jaguars as a rookie and beyond. It is a bold and historic goal, but one Hunter and the Jaguars are both all-in on.

Jaguars general manager James Gladstone spoke with SiriusXM NFL Radio's hosts Andrew Siciliano and Max Starks and explained how the Jaguars see Hunter's talents and why he has been used a certain way in practice thus far.

“I do think there's a little bit of a misconception in that it's wide receiver first, corner second as much as it is the learning methodology of wide receiver through this phase, and then continuing to trickle in more defense, since that is his primary background," Gladstone said.

“The windows for development in the NFL, they are few and far between, right? The off-season program is where it exists in its healthiest state," Gladstone said.

"Our understanding that Travis is most naturally comfortable, most naturally in tune on the defensive side of the ball, we wanted to load him offensively throughout this window to ensure that by the time we got to training camp, we had a runway built up on that side because there's so much more nuance, so much more adjustments in real time on the offensive side of the ball that would require a lot more learning."

The Jaguars traded the No. 5 pick, their 2025 second-round pick, and 2026 first-round pick to the Cleveland Browns to land Hunter, who has the potential to be as much of a cultural and on-field giant as his former head coach Deion Sanders was.