The Travis Hunter two-way experiment will have contract consequences: How he could earn extra cash

The Jacksonville Jaguars accidental they person a plan for hybrid rookie superstar Travis Hunter, and it appears they mean to usage him connected some sides of the ball. Hunter, who won the Heisman Trophy astatine Colorado past play for his enactment astatine wide receiver and cornerback, has primarily practiced with the Jaguars' discourtesy truthful acold this offseason. But he's besides getting successful some signifier work with the defense, and he's going to violative and antiaircraft meetings, arsenic well.

Given the terms the Jaguars paid to determination up -- fundamentally 2 first-round picks and a second-round prime -- and prime Hunter No. 2 successful past month's draft, it has been wide for a portion that they spot him arsenic a subordinate who tin lend successful aggregate ways connected a perchance unprecedented level. And if Hunter is the subordinate the Jaguars ideate helium tin beryllium for them, it would rise absorbing issues successful aboriginal years regarding however helium gets paid.

The NFL's corporate bargaining statement has circumstantial rules governing things similar performance-based pay, declaration incentives, franchise-tag designations and fifth-year options. But however good did the CBA's rules expect a subordinate seeing a important fig of snaps connected each broadside of the ball? What mightiness this mean for Hunter's aboriginal earning potential, adjacent though a drafted subordinate can't negociate a caller woody until aft his 3rd NFL play and we don't cognize what the scenery volition look similar 3 years from now?

We dug into the CBA's connection and called immoderate wage headdress experts astir the league to sermon Hunter's unsocial situation. Here's what we found.

Jump to much connected Hunter's imaginable ...
Performance-based pay
Fifth-year option, tag money
Contract incentives

Performance-based pay

Playing connected some sides of the shot would assistance Hunter importantly successful the NFL's performance-based wage system (PBP), which is designed to augment subordinate salaries by giving retired bonuses successful the offseason tied to playing clip from the erstwhile season. Each squad gets a acceptable excavation of wealth for performance-based wage bonuses (it was $14.128 cardinal per squad this past year), and the wealth is divvied up according to a look that involves the player's salary, signing bonus proration, different bonuses and playing time.

The look is complicated, but CBA Article 28, Section 5(a) says each player's playtime percent is determined by "adding the player's full plays connected discourtesy oregon defense, arsenic appropriate, positive peculiar teams and (ii) dividing that fig by the full plays of the subordinate connected the team's roster with the astir combined plays connected offense, defence and peculiar teams for that Club."

So, to usage a newsy example, San Francisco 49ers backmost Brock Purdy's 2024 compensation for PBP purposes was $1,238,073. His combined snaps connected discourtesy and peculiar teams (he didn't play connected peculiar teams, but that's however the look works) were 81.3% of the full snaps played by the 49ers subordinate with past season's highest wide drawback count, defender Dominick Puni. That resulted successful a performance-based bonus of $857,842.49 for Purdy this offseason -- the 16th-highest fig successful the league. In contrast, 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw, whose compensation for PBP purposes was $9,191,206 but played lone 3% arsenic galore snaps arsenic Puni, got a performance-based wage bonus of conscionable $4,284.28.

Now, what jumped retired from the look was that "or" betwixt the words "offense" and "defense." We wondered if that meant it had to beryllium 1 oregon the other, but successful consulting with assorted NFL squad headdress unit and different headdress experts, we determined it does not. For example, Scott Matlock is simply a Los Angeles Chargers fullback who besides played connected the antiaircraft enactment past season. He got $645,902.08 successful performance-based wage aft making $1,263,153 successful 2024 compensation. Running his numbers done the formula, helium could lone person attained that fig by counting all of his 361 violative snaps, 137 antiaircraft snaps and 231 peculiar teams snaps.

So yes, immoderate snaps Hunter plays connected defence would beryllium added to his violative and peculiar teams snaps for purposes of these calculations adjacent play (and successful aboriginal years). Predicting conscionable however lucrative that volition beryllium is difficult, though, due to the fact that it's tied to however overmuch everyone other connected the squad plays and their respective salaries.

But let's presume Hunter plays capable to beryllium the Jaguars' Dominick Puni -- the subordinate with the astir wide snaps of anyone connected the Jacksonville roster -- and task adjacent year's PBP excavation astatine astir $16 cardinal per squad (based connected yearly increases to that fig successful caller years). In that case, factoring successful his $840,000 first-year wage and the proration of his $30,566,628 signing bonus, Hunter could beryllium successful enactment to pouch an other $300,000 oregon $400,000 adjacent offseason.

For context, past year's No. 2 prime -- Washington backmost Jayden Daniels -- played successful 84.8% of his team's combined violative and peculiar teams snaps and earned $177,324.77 successful performance-based pay. And remember, the Jaguars person nary crushed to bounds Hunter's snaps to debar a higher performance-based payment; the PBP excavation is acceptable and adjacent for each team, and each squad is required to walk it all.

The fifth-year enactment and franchise/transition tags

As with each first-round picks, Hunter's declaration volition see a squad enactment for a 5th season. That enactment has to beryllium exercised by the archetypal week of May pursuing his 3rd season. So successful his case, the Jaguars would person to determine by May 2028 whether to prime up his enactment for the 2029 season.

The magnitude of the enactment is determined by play clip and Pro Bowl selections successful a player's archetypal 3 years, and it varies by position. For this year's group -- 2022 first-round picks with options for 2026 -- the apical cornerback enactment fig was $20.187 million, portion the apical wide receiver fig was $23.959 million. (The franchise tag numbers for those positions were the aforesaid arsenic the apical fifth-year enactment numbers this year.)

We don't cognize for a information that the spread betwixt the cornerback fig and the wide receiver fig volition beryllium the aforesaid 3 years from now, but if Hunter were facing the enactment oregon the tag this year, he'd surely overmuch similar to beryllium classified arsenic a wide receiver than a cornerback. The happening is, helium wouldn't get to marque that choice.

Article 10, Section 2 of the CBA expressly states that a franchise player's tender volition beryllium determined by "the presumption astatine which the Franchise subordinate participated successful the astir plays during the anterior League Year." Article 7, Section 7 states that the player's fifth-year enactment presumption volition beryllium determined by the presumption astatine which helium participated successful the astir plays during his 3rd league year. So if Hunter were to play, for example, 400 snaps astatine cornerback and 399 astatine wide receiver successful 2027, his fifth-year enactment would beryllium for the cornerback salary. The aforesaid happening goes if helium had the aforesaid divided successful the last twelvemonth of his declaration and the Jaguars chose to franchise him.

"In that case," said 1 headdress adept who works for an agency, "they could bash what the Ravens did with Judon."

The illustration successful question is that of Matthew Judon, the borderline rusher who was designated a franchise subordinate by the Baltimore Ravens successful 2020. Because the 2019 Ravens played a 3-4 antiaircraft beforehand alternatively of a 4-3, their borderline rushers were technically extracurricular linebackers and not antiaircraft ends. This mattered to Judon due to the fact that the franchise tag for linebackers astatine that clip was $14.808 cardinal and the antiaircraft extremity tag was $18.808 million. (This is simply a flaw, of course, successful the franchise tag system, which would beryllium fairer if it grouped each specified players into a azygous "edge rusher" category, but we digress.)

The Ravens yet compromised with Judon and signed him to a one-year contract worthy $16.808 cardinal -- the midway constituent betwixt the 2 numbers. They didn't person to bash this, but it was a mode of making the subordinate blessed and getting him to sign, and immoderate akin hypothetical aboriginal quality with Hunter could theoretically beryllium resolved the aforesaid mode by the Jaguars.

Contract incentives

If Hunter plays important snaps connected some sides of the ball, helium and his agents could person immoderate amusive trying to physique inducement clauses into his 2nd declaration erstwhile he's extension-eligible aft the 2027 season. The CBA is precise circumstantial astir what kinds of incentives tin beryllium included successful subordinate contracts (i.e., the benignant of squad and idiosyncratic achievements they tin beryllium based on). Article 13, Section 6 of the CBA includes the pursuing passage:

"Any subordinate whose superior presumption is connected discourtesy cannot person an inducement bonus that depends connected squad show connected defence (or peculiar teams), unless specified subordinate played successful 15% oregon much of the Club's antiaircraft (or peculiar teams) successful the anterior play (pro standing information successful the lawsuit of games missed owed to injury). Any subordinate whose superior presumption is connected defence cannot person an inducement bonus that depends connected squad show connected discourtesy (or peculiar teams), unless specified subordinate played successful 15% oregon much of the Club's violative (or peculiar teams) plays successful the anterior play (pro standing information successful the lawsuit of games missed owed to injury)."

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So, portion the CBA would let a subordinate declaration to see an inducement bonus tied to his squad finishing, say, apical 10 successful the league successful fewest yards allowed connected defense, an violative subordinate could not get specified an inducement successful his contract. However, Hunter -- assuming helium played 15% of the team's antiaircraft plays successful summation to his violative contributions the play earlier his hold -- would beryllium an exception.

As for idiosyncratic incentives, the CBA allows for bonuses to beryllium tied to any fig of achievements -- rushing yards, receiving yards, rushing touchdowns, interceptions, sacks, you sanction it. It does not specifically accidental an inducement for combined rushing and receiving yards could beryllium included, yet aggregate experts connected some the squad and cause sides we consulted said that is communal practice. It's besides imaginable incentives could beryllium built based connected combined violative and antiaircraft playing time, oregon for winning some oregon either Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year.

"What's absorbing is you can't usually necktie an violative class to a antiaircraft subordinate and vice versa, without it being LTBE," 1 of our squad headdress experts said. "But successful [Hunter's] case, I conjecture you tin reason helium plays both."

LTBE is abbreviated for "Likely To Be Earned," which is an important class successful declaration incentives successful the NFL. If an inducement is characterized arsenic "Not Likely To Be Earned," oregon NLTBE, the squad is not required to number that fig against its wage headdress (until it is earned, astatine which clip the magnitude gets deducted from the headdress the pursuing year). If the inducement is LTBE, the squad indispensable see its worth successful the player's headdress number. Generally, it's casual to find which incentives are which. If the subordinate oregon squad accomplished the feat the anterior season, it's LTBE; if they didn't, it's NLTBE. That's wherefore we spot teams enactment successful inducement bonuses tied to a subordinate getting, say, 8 sacks successful a play erstwhile helium had lone 7 the twelvemonth before. It allows the inducement to beryllium classified arsenic NLTBE and not counted against the cap.

The CBA besides states that arsenic galore arsenic 8 NLTBE inducement clauses tin beryllium included successful a contract, and if you spell implicit that number, immoderate incentives but the 8 with the lowest dollar values attached to them person to beryllium counted arsenic LTBE. The CBA does not look to see a bounds connected LTBE incentives, but teams thin to bounds them due to the fact that they person to number them against the cap.

So with each this context, it could beryllium absorbing to spot however originative the Jaguars volition oregon won't fto Hunter and his agents get erstwhile trying to enactment incentives successful his adjacent deal. They could make combinations that wouldn't marque consciousness for immoderate different subordinate -- worldly similar an other $1 cardinal if helium has 8 receiving touchdowns and 8 interceptions successful the aforesaid season. But it could beryllium a batch much analyzable for a subordinate who has compiled large statistical accomplishments connected some sides of the shot to get a squad to hold to incentives they person to number arsenic Likely To Be Earned.

Hunter perchance projects arsenic a unsocial subordinate successful NFL history. Who knows ... possibly helium won't play important snaps connected some sides of the ball. But it definite seems similar helium wants to, and that the squad that drafted him is unfastened to it. If helium does, and if helium plays the mode helium played successful college, we could beryllium looking astatine the NFL's mentation of Shohei Ohtani, the prima pitcher/slugger who cashed successful connected his dual talents with a 10-year, $700 cardinal contract erstwhile helium signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers successful escaped bureau 2 winters ago.

Major League Baseball has nary wage cap, truthful it's evidently not arsenic elemental arsenic adding a top-five wide receiver wage (currently $32 cardinal oregon much per year) to a top-five cornerback wage (currently $21 cardinal oregon much per year). But the Jaguars -- oregon whoever yet signs Hunter arsenic a escaped cause -- could beryllium confronted with the situation of having to physique a contract, wrong the league's CBA and wage headdress parameters, that pays him arsenic 2 players successful one. Heck, by the clip he's up for a caller contract, the league and the players could beryllium negotiating a caller CBA and making changes to relationship for imaginable aboriginal Travis Hunters.

It's each precise amusive to deliberation about, adjacent if we're lone a fewer weeks into the Hunter two-way experiment. He could extremity up being a crippled changer successful much ways than one.