Travis Hunter Contract Details: Comparing Jaguars Star’s Rookie Salary to Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders

With the 2025 NFL Draft officially in the books for a couple of months now, NFL teams are looking to sign their new players to their rookie contracts. On Sunday, June 22, Travis Hunter officially signed his first NFL contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who traded up to land him at No. 2 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.

After swinging a deal with the Cleveland Browns to secure the draft pick, the Jaguars knew who their guy was in the 2025 NFL Draft, and they landed him. After officially signing his first contract, Hunter is formally in the league. Let’s look at how his contract fares when compared with Cam Ward’s and Shedeur Sanders’ contracts.

Travis Hunter’s Contract Compared to Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders

On Sunday, the Jaguars announced that Hunter officially signed his rookie contract. He was the final top-10 pick of the 2025 NFL Draft to put pen to paper. Now that the ink has dried, he is slated for a four-year, $46.65 million deal with the Jaguars.

Travis Hunter officially signed his four-year, $46.65 million fully guaranteed contract. His $30.57 million signing bonus, paid entirely upfront, sets a new record—making him the first non-quarterback not drafted first overall to receive his entire signing bonus upfront. The deal… pic.twitter.com/3GUPghqHUJ

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 22, 2025

According to ESPN, the deal includes a $30.57 million signing bonus, which was paid entirely as an upfront payment. This makes Hunter the first non-quarterback and non-No. 1 overall pick to get the entirety of his signing bonus upfront.

Hunter is likely to star at two positions this season. In his rookie season, he’s set to help the Jaguars as a receiver on offense and as a cornerback on defense. He will bring the two-way ability from the college ranks to the professional level. It’s unclear, however, if that will last beyond his rookie year.

His new contract carries an average annual value of just under $11.7 million and a signing bonus of just under $30.6 million, which the Jaguars are paying fully upfront, according to ESPN. The total value of the deal is about $2.1 million less than what the No. 1 pick, Cam Ward, received from the Tennessee Titans.

The Titans signed their No. 1 overall pick in May. Ward landed a guaranteed four-year deal worth $48.75 million. He was also given a signing bonus of $32.1 million. This brings his AAV to around $12.2 million. A fifth-year option was also included. Unfortunately for Shedeur Sanders, his deal was nowhere close to this.

While he was once predicted to be a first-round pick, Sanders dropped to the fifth round on the third day before the Cleveland Browns drafted him at No. 144 overall. His contract was a far cry from Ward’s or Hunter’s. The Browns officially signed Sanders back in May.

His contract length is four years, which was the same for Hunter and Ward, but he only signed for a total value of $4.6 million. He obtained a signing bonus of $447,380. His contract has an AAV of about $1.16 million. Compared to Ward’s AAV of about $12.2 million and Hunter’s AAV of about $11.7 million, this is quite the drop-off.

However, it’s par for the course with the dramatic slide Sanders experienced in the 2025 NFL Draft. Ward, who was picked at No. 1 overall by the Titans, has the highest total value, with Hunter right behind him. This makes sense since Hunter was taken right behind Ward at No. 2 overall.