Shortly after Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders’s intertwined collegiate careers ended in December, it looked like the dynamic duo would both go in the top five picks of the 2025 NFL Draft.
However, that no longer appears to be the case, as the longtime teammates take divergent paths to their professional journeys that both go against the norm for most NFL rookies.
Heading into Thursday’s first round, Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner, is a heavy favorite to be picked No. 2 by the Browns—and if not, it would be a major shock if he falls past the Giants (or an eager trade partner) at No. 3.
The draft stock of the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and Colorado coach Deion Sanders has fallen. Most experts still predict he’ll be taken in the first round, but slot him outside the top 10, and in some cases as the third quarterback after Miami’s Cam Ward, the projected No. 1 pick, and Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart.
Hunter is represented by Lil Wayne’s growing agency, Young Money APAA Sports, while Sanders has not signed an agent. It is believed that his father, Deion, will help advise him on playing contracts, at least initially. With a plethora of powerhouse agencies like Athletes First, CAA, Excel, Klutch Sports Group, Rosenhaus Sports Representation, Wasserman, and WME representing the majority of NFL stars, both are blazing their own trails.
Hunter quickly became Young Money’s most notable client across all of its divisions that cover the NFL, college football, NBA, and international soccer. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts started his career with Young Money, but left in 2021 when his agent, Nicole Lynn, jumped to Klutch, the firm founded by LeBron James’s longtime agent Rich Paul.
While Sanders forgoing an agent makes him an outlier, it’s a decision that is also becoming more of a trend.
Ward is yet another top prospect who has not hired an agent, with his father also likely to play a key role in contract decisions. Last year’s top pick, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, does not have an agent, either. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, the 2019 and 2023 NFL MVP, represents himself in contract negotiations (with aid from his mother), but that didn’t prevent him from inking a five-year, $260 million contract extension in 2023.
As for Sanders, a late-first-round position would still be quite the achievement—and would come with a guaranteed four-year contract worth somewhere between $13 million and $17 million. The first five picks, though, will make between $36 million and $43 million.
The second contract in a star NFL player’s career is when the real money arrives, though, as agents negotiate tooth and nail with their client’s team—or new ones—trying to get the best deal possible.
Despite the varying agent strategies for Hunter and Sanders, the two longtime teammates are still both represented by SMAC Entertainment for off-field marketing deals, after the firm helped each land multiple lucrative NIL (name, image, and likeness) pacts in college.
No matter their NFL landing spots, the plan has always been for Hunter and Sanders—who both saw their Colorado numbers retired Saturday—to work together off the field in the pros. “It doesn’t end here for them,” SMAC cofounder and CEO Constance Schwartz-Morini previously told Front Office Sports. “This is a real friendship and family dynamic that won’t end when their time at Colorado’s up.”
Plus, it’s theoretically possible that a team like the Browns could take Hunter at No. 2 and then trade back into the second half of the first round and take Sanders, reuniting the two once again.
