NFL playbooks and schemes aren’t the only complex and esoteric issues to garden-variety football observers. Contracts, ongoing negotiations, and their implications on the salary cap can be just as complicated.
That’s what makes the present situation for four NFL superstars so unique.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, there are monster extensions “on the table” for the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones, the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, and the San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa. Each of these players are field-tilters — genuine game-changers whose respective teams would miss dearly if they were to miss any time.
To date, it seems only Bosa and Jones may actually miss snaps, but this entire squad’s financial situation is worth monitoring:
We have football this week and there are 4 contract extensions on the table for players that are generational talents.
Joe Burrow, Nick Bosa, Chris Jones and Justin Jefferson.
These are all future Hall-of-Famers that could respectively sign record deals.— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) September 5, 2023
As Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season looms, let’s quickly examine the respective dynamics in play for Burrow, Jones, Jefferson, and Bosa and whether they’ll sign on the dotted line before that first kickoff.
4
DT Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
Jones not seeking “Aaron Donald money” doesn’t change his situation much. The 2022 Defensive Player of the Year finalist didn’t report to training camp. He’s barely practiced with the team since it won Super Bowl 57. And Kansas City opens its title defense on Thursday night against the Detroit Lions. Unless a significant domino falls over the next 48 hours, Jones will likely not be signing an extension soon and will probably miss Week 1. The Chiefs’ defense will suffer for it.
3
WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Jefferson might be the best receiver since Randy Moss. With nearly 5,000 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns in just three seasons, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year has established himself as an impossible cover. It’s also given him a measure of leverage to ask for an early mega extension from the Minnesota Vikings. The issue is that Jefferson is still just in Year 4 of his contract, and the Vikings can freely extend a player option for Year 5. I’m sure Minnesota would appreciate being proactive and potentially saving money on Jefferson’s eventual market-setting deal, but that doesn’t mean an extension is happening before Opening Sunday.
If it doesn’t happen before Week 1, maybe a 200-yard effort at the expense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense expedites this process.
2
EDGE Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
Another superstar defender who didn’t report to training camp, Bosa is holding out for a record-setting EDGE deal. The way 49ers leaders and players have talked, it seems extremely possible Bosa could miss meaningful games before he gets what he wants. Given Bosa’s importance to San Francisco’s overall defensive integrity, I have a hard time believing he doesn’t sign on a dotted line before Sunday’s matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 49ers are smack dab in the middle of a Super Bowl window, and Bosa is their best player. They can’t afford to have him sit out an extended period of time.
1
QB Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
This one is an absolute lock. Burrow is a top-five quarterback and the cornerstone of a genuine Super Bowl contender. The Bengals are nowhere near the intimidating force they’ve become over the last two seasons without Burrow’s services. Sure, his contract will likely eat a healthy majority of Cincinnati’s salary cap. But it’s better now than before he wins a few more playoff games or even the franchise’s first Super Bowl title.
