Minnesota Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson must have been grinning from ear to ear after learning of Stefon Diggs’ massive contract extension with the Buffalo Bills. It just reinforced what he already knew: He’s getting paid when his contract is up.
On Wednesday morning, it was reported that Diggs had signed a four-year, $104 million extension with $70 million guaranteed with the Bills. That essentially locks the 28-year-old former Viking up as quarterback Josh Allen’s primary receiving target for the foreseeable future.
But even that contract paled in comparison to the record-breaking Tyreek Hill deal with the Miami Dolphins back in March. “The Cheetah” became the first non-quarterback to make $30 million annually after receiving a four-year, $120 million extension with $72.2 million guaranteed.
Jefferson’s agent might not even have to lift a finger with the market doing his job for him. If two elite receivers on the backend of their 20’s can command that much money on the market, imagine what an elite receiver entering the prime years of his career could command.
Whew.
Jefferson might need a life vest to tread the ocean of cash that’ll rain down once he’s done with his rookie deal. The market is shaping up for him to literally be throwing money around like a Fat Joe music video.
And do you want to know the scariest part, especially for the one writing the check? The market could get even bigger.
DK Metcalf, A.J. Brown and Deebo Samuel are all in line for massive extensions. Could we get to a place where Jefferson is making close to $35 million annually on another record-breaking contract?
Maybe.
But calm down, Vikings fans. There’s no need to get your blood pressure soaring just yet. Jefferson will be in the third year of his deal in 2022, and the team will obviously pick up the fifth-year option on his contract down the line as well. But the exploratory negotiations could begin as early as 2023 in an effort to hammer out something long-term.
Keep in mind, the team will also be coming back to the table with quarterback Kirk Cousins around that time as well. Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was sort of let off the hook this season in kicking the same can down the road in an effort to keep the same roster from his predecessor mostly intact.
But that won’t always be the case, and you can’t expect a young, emerging superstar like Jefferson to accept a team-friendly deal on his first major extension. An argument could already be made that Jefferson is the best receiver in the league, and in the coming years, that argument could become more universal.
In only his second season, he came within 17 yards of breaking Randy Moss’ single-season franchise receiving yards record. And he’s already broken the record set by Odell Beckham Jr. for the most receiving yards in his first two NFL seasons.
The next record to be broken is at the negotiating table. There are a lot of really good receivers out there, but Jefferson could be a generational talent. If the Vikings can’t fork over the hefty price it would take to keep him, well, just look at the Kansas City Chiefs to see how that scenario ultimately played out.
A peace sign and Hill was out in Kansas City.
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