→ Nominated by Colin Rosenblum, editor in chief
→ Written by Nate Graber-Lipperman
Travis Hunter is a superstar college football player for the Colorado Buffaloes on the field and a prolific creator off of it.
Manages two vlog-centric YouTube channels where he takes viewers behind the scenes of practice, games, and his relationship with girlfriend Leanna Lenee.
Reacts to college football news and highlights (including his own games) on a podcast he hosts with Bleacher Report.
Creates short-form sports lifestyle videos for his over 2 million combined TikTok and Instagram followers.
"I nominated Travis because he's paving a new path for creators like him."
– Colin Rosenblum
→ Travis Hunter shows not only the behind-the-scenes of being football star on his channel but also his hobbies and personality—including recurring series that follows Travis fishing. / Travis Hunter
He innovated by…
Fully illustrating the promise NIL brings for creators. After 100+ years of claiming that college athletes were “amateurs” who couldn’t profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL), the NCAA adopted a landmark policy in 2021 that allows its athletes to cash in on their personal brands.
In just two seasons of playing college football, Hunter has netted an NIL valuation of $2 million—that’s an estimate of how much he earns annually from sponsorships (with partners including American Eagle and 7-Eleven) and licensing deals (think signed sports cards or merch sales), according to college sports database On3.
But we didn’t just pick Hunter because he’s among the Top 10 earners across college sports. We included the Colorado star because of his unique ability to build a media brand and tell his story.
“The first moment that really turned my head in terms of seeing Travis as a creator was during the season when he got injured against Colorado State,” our resident University of Colorado alum Colin Rosenblum said. “A ton of talk on ESPN and all over social media was about how it was a dirty hit, and people were threatening the guy who tackled him, Henry Blackburn.”
“So Travis uploaded a video to his YouTube channel during the season where he and Blackburn get to know each other—they go bowling, they set the record straight, and the video has almost 800,000 views,” Colin said. “It was this interesting lightbulb moment for me of, ‘Wow, college athletes can now control their own narrative. And it’s no longer in the hands of noise on social media, or talk radio, or the major networks.’”
→ “Travis hunter VS The Dirtiest Team In College Football (Injury Update),” Travis Hunter (September 2023)
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Where Travis Got His Start
Hunter was the country’s No. 1 overall high school football recruit in the Class of 2022. While the Georgia native’s star grew due to his impressive football skills on both offense and defense, it didn’t hurt that he befriended YouTube creator (and former college football kicker) Donald De La Haye, aka Deestroying.
De La Haye attended several of Hunter’s high school games and showcased the teen’s abilities in front of millions of subscribers. De La Haye’s support (and the unconventional path he took to a YouTube career) inspired Hunter to start creating vlogs and mini-docs that went behind-the-scenes of his life as an elite athlete.
→”TRAVIS HUNTER WENT OFF AGAIN!! (#1 PLAYER IN THE COUNTRY IS CHEAT CODE),” Deestroying (September 2021)
→”Touring Colorado's $177 Million Football Facilities! (w/ Travis Hunter),” Deestroying (January 2023)
Mapping the Travis Hunter Universe
→ The football superstar has quickly moved to expand his media brand, from vlogging with his girlfriend to hosting a podcast with Bleacher Report. Here's a (brief) look at how each part of the Travis Hunter's creator universe flows together.
The Path He’s Paving
When Hunter (presumably) goes pro, he’ll have a lot less free time. To find success in media long-term, Colin said, Hunter will need to determine his “premier content offering” and commit to it, similar to Jason and Travis Kelce podcasting their way to a hit sports show.
“There are so many athletes and entertainers who make headlines about starting a YouTube channel…and then they post eight episodes and never come back to the platform,” Colin said.
“But if you look at Travis, he has a long history of doing it. Regardless of his storytelling style, or production value, he’s an active creator—truly working on that side of his career,” Colin said. “I think he proved it even when he was injured and not playing football that he can carry an audience and build a career for himself.”
🔗 Travis’ Links:
Watch
“It’s a really poetic thing, in a way, that Deestroying can be featured on Travis’ channel, Travis can be on Dee’s channel. And six years ago, Dee had to make that decision of whether he wanted to be a kicker at University of Central Florida or whether he wanted to be a YouTube creator…it was perhaps the right move to grant these athletes the opportunity to make a living for themselves and, you know, just grow and expand.”
— Colin Rosenblum on Travis Hunter’s creator career
