Travis Hunter joined a small, elite list of college football players in December 2024 when he won the Heisman Trophy, becoming only the second Colorado Buffalo to win the award. The projected top-three pick is among the most highly sought talents in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft not only by teams, but also blue-chip companies that want to tap into Hunter’s popularity.
Through marketing campaigns, partnerships and sustained on-field success, the goal for the masterminds behind Hunter is simple: capitalize on his unique two-way play and make him one of the NFL’s most marketable personalities.
Since 2022, Hunter has signed 24 NIL deals with companies including United Airlines, NerdWallet, Cheez-It and more. Ongoing deals include companies such as Adidas, EA Sports, Buffalo Wild Wings and Celsius.
Constance Schwartz-Morini’s and Michael Strahan’s talent management company, SMAC Entertainment, has been responsible for the bulk of those deals, and the two are confident that Hunter’s stardom won’t recede, regardless of where his NFL career begins.
Hunter is entering the NFL splitting his on- and off-field representation. SMAC Entertainment handles off-field opportunities such as marketing, brand partnerships and activations, while rapper Lil Wayne’s Young Money APAA Sports represents Hunter for his playing contract, training and preparation for the draft, as well as his general transition into the NFL.
“He [Hunter] is just such a unicorn. We’re going on a decade of being an agency, and I’ve done this at the highest level,” said Young Money APAA Sports CEO and co-founder Adie von Gontard. “But when you have someone of Travis’ magnitude, it’s what really just makes him one of a kind.
“He’s already broken so many records. So the sky’s the limit on what he can accomplish and we can accomplish collectively as a team.”
Hunter has been with SMAC, which also represents Colorado coach Deion Sanders and defensive back Shilo Sanders; Stefon Diggs; DK Metcalf and others, since he began college at Jackson State University. He began working with Young Money in late 2024. Young Money represents 13 other NFL Draft prospects.
To both parties, the symbiotic relationship between SMAC and Young Money is the best way to capitalize on Hunter’s marketing appeal and high level of play. It also doesn’t hurt that Schwartz-Morini, SMAC co-founder and CEO, has known von Gontard for three years after rapper and Young Money Entertainment President Mack Maine introduced them.
“There’s mutual trust and years of experience between us. I don’t do what they do, and they [Young Money] don’t do what SMAC does. That’s why we all have the best interests of Travis first and foremost,” Schwartz-Morini said.
Even those within the NFL Players Association, such as NFL Players Inc., the licensing and marketing arm of the NFLPA, are riding high on Hunter’s rising popularity.
“Travis is really interesting because he brings this element of versatility, unlike anyone else, because of how he plays the game,” said Ben Ruiz, vice president of consumer products for NFL Players Inc. “The unique thing with Travis, as it’s relative to our partners, is that I think it will get their creative juices flowing a little more and have them reimagine the way they do campaigns and products.”
SMAC is planning local and national marketing strategies, with the potential for a global campaign. Though Schwartz-Morini could not disclose any details, she said she’s engaging with multiple parties on all levels, from local communities to Fortune 100 companies. United Airlines played off Hunter’s two-way play with a campaign to promote the company’s new flight routes between famous college towns, and Snickers debuted an ice cream and chocolate bar two-pack. Schwartz-Morini is looking to do the same for future marketing campaigns.
“Playing both sides of the ball is so unique. A couple of brands have really leaned into it,” she said. “From a marketing standpoint for us, we’re also looking at the market and asking what can we do at a local level from camps with kids. But the NFL is working on a bigger global footprint and we’re planning the same with him, as well.”
In order to make Hunter among the NFL’s top marketing stars, SMAC will need him to be one of the most forward-facing personalities in the league — a project Schwartz-Morini is already working on. Lucky for her and the SMAC team, even though Hunter is mostly focused on football, he has other interests, such as fishing and video games. On his YouTube channel, “The Travis Hunter Show,” he discusses fishing, among other topics. He’s also streamed himself playing video games such as NCAA Football 24 on his other YouTube channel, “Travis Hunter,” which has nearly 500,000 subscribers.
“We know once he gets drafted, we need to cement him into the city, get him moved in and get him comfortable. But he already has an unbelievable brand that’s just going to continue to enhance as he goes into this NFL journey,” von Gontard said. “Then it goes back to really starting to build that generational wealth and being an entrepreneur that can redefine the modern athlete. Hopefully he’s going to be the first [active] billionaire in the NFL. I think that would be the ultimate goal for both of us.”
Young Money APAA Sports’ draft eligible clients:
- Travis Hunter (WR/CB)-Colorado
- Brashard Smith (RB)-SMU
- Jared Harrison-Hunte (DL)-SMU
- KeAndre Lambert Smith (WR)-Auburn
- Arian Smith (WR)-Georgia
- R.J. Mickens (DB)-Clemson
- Corey Kiner (RB)-Cincinnati
- Jabbar Muhammad (DB)-Oregon
- Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig (DB)-Colorado
- Jordan Oladokun (DB)-Bowling Green
- Aaron Smith (LB)-South Carolina State
- Justin Mayers (OL)-Colorado
- Bill Norton (DL)-Texas
- Donato Crisanti (LS)-Rhode Island
SMAC Entertainment draft eligible clients:
- Travis Hunter (WR/CB)-Colorado
- Shilo Sanders (DB) – Colorado
Travis Hunter’s brand endorsements:
- Celsius
- Buffalo Wild Wings
- EA Sports
- JLab
- Hey Dude
- Panini America
- Adidas
- Ollipop
