Justin Jefferson’s price to Vikings rises due to new factors
The Minnesota Vikings appear to have made the mistake of stalling contract negotiations with wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
Minnesota could have offered Jefferson a contract extension a year ago, and the team could have done so at any time after that. The Vikings and their All-Pro team have yet to reach a multi-year deal, but what was already potentially the largest contract in NFL history at the position could be even bigger after the league announced a $30 million contract increase. It will be expensive. 2024 salary cap.
“The basic truth about giving great players the contracts they deserve is that if you wait, prices will always go up. Always,” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote on Saturday, February 24th. “Jefferson’s price will go up even more starting Friday when the salary cap hits $255.4 million per team.”
Justin Jefferson now more likely to sign historic contract
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson. There’s no guarantee that Jefferson will reset the wide receiver market every time he takes the field, whether in Minnesota or elsewhere, but the odds were still good.
Two years ago, the Miami Dolphins paid Tyreek Hill $30 million a year with a four-year contract extension. This figure is the highest average annual salary a player has ever received from an NFL team.
Davante Adams signed a five-year contract worth $140 million ($28 million annually) with the Las Vegas Raiders in the same offseason that Hill completed his big deal. Although the total amount is not guaranteed, it remains the highest total ever written on an NFL wide receiver contract ($65.71 million).
Additionally, Jefferson will not receive a fully guaranteed contract from the Vikings or any other team. However, he is expected to receive more than $30 million annually and will be on track to become the highest-paid receiver in league history by any metric within five years.
And frankly, he deserves it. Jefferson is a three-time Pro Bowler and led the NFL in receptions (128 yards) and receiving yards (1,809 yards) in 2022, earning first-team All-Pro honors. During his four-year career with the Vikings, he racked up records with 392 catches for 5,899 yards and 30 touchdowns in 60 games, according to Pro Football Reference. Jefferson had 68 catches for 1,074 yards and five scores last season, despite missing seven games with a hamstring strain.
The Vikings risk keeping Justin Jefferson away as he awaits a contract extension.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Jefferson put all of that production into a four-year rookie contract that paid him just $13.1 million. His salary jumps to $19.7 million in 2024 after Minnesota exercised the fifth-year option on that contract ahead of the 2023 campaign.
The Vikings do not need to re-sign Jefferson this offseason or next year. The team could use the franchise option to keep expansion closed until 2025, and potentially again in 2026. But Minnesota risks alienating Jefferson by doing so, risking losing a 24-year-old superstar in his early 20s.
“What he wanted before Friday, he probably wants even more now,” Florio wrote on Saturday. “As Jefferson explained after joining PFT Live at the Super Bowl, he has been very patient. At some point, his patience will run out.”
Florio added that the issue preventing Jefferson from signing with the Vikings is the structure of the contract, specifically regarding guaranteed money.
Minnesota’s new system, led by general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, has spent the past two offseasons fully guaranteeing every player’s compensation beyond the first year of their contract, with the exception of quarterback Kirk Cousins.
I’ve been trying to avoid that. The team bucked that trend by extending tight end T.J. Hockenson, and will undoubtedly have to do it again if they want to keep Jefferson in Minneapolis long-term. “It is unclear what will become of Jefferson,” Florio wrote. “Now something is clear. Prices are going up day by day.
