Jacksonville Jaguars’ second overall pick, Travis Hunter, is the only player who was selected in the top 15 of this year’s NFL draft that has yet to sign his rookie deal and he is one of four first-round picks in total who still remains unsigned.
While NFL insider Ian Rapoport is confident that a deal will get done, it may still take some time before things get to that point.
“It feels to me like Travis Hunter will probably be the last first-rounder to sign,” Rapoport said on ‘The Insiders.’ “These things are generally one, not complicated. We know he’s going to make $46.6 and change million and we know he’s going to get a $30 million signing bonus. These numbers are negotiated; they are basically done. The numbers you can not mess with.”
As Rapoport mentions, when it comes to rookie deals, there is really very little room for negotiating. The rookie wage scale sets the contract parameters based on where the player was drafted.
According to Over the Cap, Hunter will earn $46.649 million as the second overall pick, which includes a signing bonus of $30.556 million.
Where there can be some wiggle room in terms of negotiations is when the player receives that guaranteed money, whether it be in a lump sum, or the player receives some now and some more in season.
However, even with that being the case, Hunter’s deal, in Rapoport’s opinion, will be the most difficult to get done.
“To me it seems like this is going to be the hardest to get done as Travis Hunter tries to do everything he can to maximize his deal,” Rapoport added. “Not just right now, but in the third year and the fourth year. I don’t expect a holdout. We rarely, rarely see a holdout, but I do think this will take some time.
“But if you’re talking about Jaguars‘ fans, you’re talking about Jaguars’ people, I don’t think they have anything to worry about because he’s almost certainly going to be participating in training camp. You think they would figure out a way to get it done by then.”
This is new territory for the Jaguars and for Hunter, who is looking to be a true two-way player in the NFL at the cornerback and wide receiver positions.
While negotiating is limited in terms of total contract value, how Hunter receives that money, both in Year 1 and in Year 4, could be the aspect that is taking time, as he looks to maximize his deal, as Rapoport put it, and reflect as much as possible his two-way impact.