One of the biggest topics surrounding the Minnesota Vikings this offseason is the contract situation with star wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Jefferson has wanted a long-term deal for the past few years, and the Vikings have seemingly been motivated to lock up one of the best receivers in the NFL.
However, a deal remains unreached, likely due to just how much Jefferson is in line to receive.
Just how much could the Vikings be on the hook for? Vikings beat writer for The Athletic, Alec Lewis, believes the price tag for Jefferson could come in at or above a whopping $35 million per year. In an interview with radio station KFAN1003, Lewis stated:
[Justin Jefferson’s representatives] know how to maximize a guy’s value. And that value to me is going to be 35 million a year at the bare minimum, probably.
That price tag has likely increased quite a bit in the past few months with the new deals reached by Philadelphia Eagles star A.J. Brown and Detroit Lions rising star Amon-Ra St. Brown. If Jefferson were to get $35M per year (or more), it would make him the highest-paid receiver in the league per year, coming in $3 million more per year than Brown.
No matter what the final number winds up being for Jefferson, it’s clear by his production that he deserves to be among the highest-paid at the position, if not the leader of the pact.