Travis Hunter's biggest NFL decision should already be made

There's no question that Colorado playmaker Travis Hunter is one of the most electric and interesting athletes in the nation right now. Once one of the nation's top high school recruits, Hunter has blossomed into a very rare and unique two-way star under Deion Sanders as a member of both Jackson State and now Colorado, where he has emerged as a potential top-3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Hunter has been so unique that even now, it's impossible to know exactly what his NFL projection is. We have literally not seen anyone do the things he's been doing in terms of playing both offense and defense in the last 10-plus years:

The opinions of what Hunter should do in the NFL are split. Some people out there feel like he's got the best NFL chops as a cornerback. Some feel he has it at wide receiver. Some people don't believe Hunter should be limited to playing just one side of the ball in the NFL.

While opinions are split, there's one factor that likely has already determined Hunter's NFL course: The Benjamins...

That's right, follow the money.

Right now, the money to be made for Hunter at the next level is going to be at the wide receiver position, which is about $10 million ahead of the cornerback market in terms of overall annual value on some of the biggest contracts being given out right now.

Top 5 NFL WR contracts entering 2024

• Justin Jefferson, Vikings: $35M per year, $110M guaranteed
• CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys: $34M per year, $100M guaranteed
• AJ Brown, Eagles: $32M per year, $84M guaranteed
• Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions: $30.0025M per year, $77M guaranteed
• Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers: $30M per year, $76M guaranteed

The market at the wide receiver position right now -- among the highest-paid players in the league -- is outrageous, and it's only going to continue to rise with players like Ja'Marr Chase still waiting on new contracts.

Top 5 NFL CB contracts entering 2024

• Jaire Alexander, Packers: $21M per year, $30M guaranteed
• AJ Terrell, Falcons: $20.25M per year, $65.844M guaranteed
• Denzel Ward, Browns: $20.1M per year, $71.25M guaranteed
• Jalen Ramsey, Dolphins: $20M per year, $71.203M guaranteed
• Marlon Humphrey, Ravens: $19.5M per year, $66.96M guaranteed

Nobody at the cornerback position in the NFL right now is even close to hitting $100 million in guaranteed money, whereas we've seen two different NFL teams dole out contracts with $100-plus million guaranteed this year alone.

The decision, from Hunter's perspective, is very simple -- it's the wide receiver position.

If he can only play one spot in the NFL, Hunter's decision couldn't be more clear, but there's still a chance we could see NFL teams utilize him on both sides of the ball, even if it's not on a full-time basis. Hunter clearly has the stamina for it. But when it comes to banking your career on hundreds of millions of dollars, Hunter might focus in on catching passes at the next level.