Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce is set to become a free agent when the new league year begins on March 11, and he’s widely considered to be the top player at his position on the market.
Pierce figures to receive plenty of interest from teams looking to bolster their wide receiver room this offseason, and ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reported on Sunday that the 25-year-old is in line to receive a contract that will pay him “at least” $27 million per season.
MORE: NFL Live News, Reports, and Updates Ahead of Free Agency
Two offseasons ago, Calvin Ridley set an NFL record when he signed a four-year, $93 million deal with the Titans. That contract paid him an average of $23 million annually, a figure Pierce is comfortably projected to break. That, of course, would make Pierce the highest-paid free-agent wide receiver in league history.
But how does Pierce stack up against the top available receiver over each of the last few free agency periods? Let's take a look.
Alec Pierce career stats
Pierce is an interesting case study. He had a relatively quiet first two seasons in the NFL before emerging as one of the league’s best deep ball threats over the last two years. Pierce has never caught 50 passes in a season and isn’t the best at creating separation on short routes, but he has excellent hands and the ability to beat his defender on a 50-50 ball downfield.
Pierce has had a different quarterback in every year of his career and has caught passes from five different quarterbacks in the last two seasons alone, though that hasn’t prevented him from making big plays downfield. Over the last two years, Pierce has caught 84 passes for 1,827 yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s averaging 21.75 yards per reception throughout that span, the most in the NFL by a wide margin.
2021- Kenny Golladay: Four years, $72 million; New York Giants
Golladay was dominant for the Lions in 2018 and ’19, when he combined for 135 receptions, 2,253 yards and 16 touchdown catches. A hip-flexor injury limited him to just five games in 2020 before he hit the open market, where he ended up signing a four-year deal with the Giants.
Golladay was a questionable fit for the Giants to begin with, and it quickly became apparent that he didn’t mesh with the team’s offensive strategy under then-offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. The contract ended up being a complete disaster, as Golladay played in a total of 26 games over the next two years in New York before getting cut. He didn’t have a single touchdown catch in 2021 and had just six total receptions in ‘22.
2022 - Christian Kirk: Four years, $72 million; Jacksonville Jaguars
Kirk parlayed a successful 2021 season into a big-money deal with the Jaguars the following offseason. During his final season with the Cardinals, Kirk caught 77 passes for 982 yards and five touchdowns. He had a fantastic first season in Jacksonville, too, breaking the 1,000-plus yard mark for the only time in his career, but wasn’t able to replicate that in the years after.
Kirk had 84 receptions, 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022. He played in 20 games for the Jaguars in the next two seasons, totaling 84 receptions, 1,166 yards and four touchdowns before leaving the team and signing with the Texans in 2025.
2023 - Allen Lazard: Four years, $44 million; New York Jets
Lazard was the highest paid receiver in what was a rather lackluster class of free agent wideouts in 2023.
He was signed by the Jets in an effort to bring one of Aaron Rodgers’s favorite targets alongside him to New York. Making $11 million per season, Lazard caught just 70 passes for 911 yards and eight touchdowns across three seasons with the Jets before requesting his release in December. Of course, it didn’t help that Rodgers missed the entire ‘23 season after rupturing his Achilles on the first drive of the season opener, but Lazard’s stint with the Jets was extremely forgettable.
2024 - Calvin Ridley: Four years, $92 million; Tennessee Titans
Ridley joined the Jaguars after missing the 2023 season due to a violation of the NFL’s gambling policy. After a big year in Jacksonville, in which he recorded 76 receptions, 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns, Ridley cashed in during free agency by signing a four-year, $92 million deal with the Titans.
Despite shoddy quarterback play in ‘24, Ridley surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the third time in his career during his debut campaign in Tennessee. 2025 was a difficult season, however, as he played in just seven games and had 17 catches, 303 yards and no touchdowns.
2025 - Stefon Diggs: Three years, $63.5 million; New England Patriots
Diggs signed a three-year deal with the Patriots in free agency last year, though he’s already set to return to the open market this offseason. It wasn’t an unsuccessful season in New England for Diggs, though, as he emerged as Drake Maye’s top target during the team’s run to the Super Bowl. Diggs had 85 receptions, 1,013 yards and four touchdowns in his one season with the Patriots.
MORE: How Patriots, Drake Maye Can Replace Stefon Diggs in 2026
Diggs’s contract was backloaded, as he was due to make $26.5 million in each of the next two seasons, so it’s not a huge surprise that the Patriots chose to part ways. Now, he’ll return to free agency for the second time in as many years.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Alec Pierce Projected for $27 Million Contract, How He Compares to Past Free Agent WRs.
