Travis Hunter ranked second on the NFLPA’s 2025 licensing-income list with $12.8 million, a reminder that his appeal off the field stayed huge even as his first NFL season was cut short by injury. Shedeur Sanders topped the list at $17.7 million, but Hunter’s number stood out because it came after a rookie campaign that never fully got going for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The NFLPA released the figures just as Hunter is pushing to get back to the Jaguars and into a bigger role in Year 2. He was drafted second overall in the 2025 draft and missed a good chunk of his rookie season with a knee injury, then had his season end after an LCL injury.
Hunter’s commercial pull did not wait for a clean rookie year. The list shows he was still one of the league’s most bankable young names in 2025, even though his on-field production lagged behind the expectations that came with being the No. 2 pick. That gap matters now because the money came in while he was spending a large part of the year on the sideline.
He has been doing his best to return to Jacksonville, and there are signs the recovery is moving in the right direction. Hunter is ahead of schedule in his recovery and has put on some weight, two details that matter for a player expected to absorb more of the defensive workload after mainly logging snaps at receiver as a rookie.
That is where the story gets interesting for the Jaguars. Jacksonville is stacked at receiver but needs reinforcements at cornerback, and Hunter is expected to see an uptick in playing time there in his second season. He spent more time learning the nuances of playing receiver in 2025 because of its complexity, but the team still believes he could play at an All-Pro level if he hones his skills on defense.
The unanswered question is not whether Hunter can sell, or even whether he can play. It is when he will be fully back on the football field, ready to match the commercial profile he has already built with the broader role Jacksonville has been planning for him.
