Justin Jefferson signed a record-breaking deal in the NFL on Monday, extending his stay with the Minnesota Vikings on a four-year, $140 million deal that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL, a totally deserved accolade for the wide receiver.
Jefferson’s production across his rookie contract can’t be denied by any means. Not only has he become the best wide receiver in the league, but he was able to put in four consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards, even if he missed seven games in 2023 due to an injury.
However, the next years of his career with the Vikings will be different, with Kirk Cousins leaving the team and J. J. McCarthy taking over as their new franchise quarterback. NFL Network’s analyst Kyle Brandt highlighted the issue, believing that, if McCarthy works out as expected, Justin Jefferson will be in the discussion with fellow wide receiver Randy Moss as the greatest Viking of all time:
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What does Justin Jefferson’s new deal mean in financial terms?
More than just a market reset, Jefferson’s deal is interesting given the outlook for the pending extensions of CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk – they won’t demand the same average of $35 million per year, but less than $30 million is almost impossible to imagine at this point.
The Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers know they’re about to enter an even more tense period of negotiations if they want to keep their players.
An important context for Jefferson’s contract, of course, is that the team has a quarterback on a rookie contract for the next few years, which makes the salary cap situation much easier. Although Minnesota would never let the receiver hit the market, or even entertain the idea of trading him, not having the weight of Kirk Cousins’ contract makes the situation easier.
And you could say that Justin Jefferson‘s deal is cheap – and not just because of everything he adds as a player. When Tyreek Hill signed his 2022 contract with the Miami Dolphins ($120 million, 4 years), the % of that year’s salary cap invested in the deal was even higher than Jefferson’s – 14.41% for Hill versus 13.70% for Jefferson.
If the Vikings wide receiver had gotten the same percentage, his average per year under the new deal would have been $36.8 million.
