The NFL’s priorities have shifted. Wide receivers are officially more valuable than pass rushers.
An anomaly that started with DeAndre Hopkins’ two-year, $54.5 million contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals has become a trend. On March 17, Davante Adams signed a five-year, $140 million deal after being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders. Six days later, Tyreek Hill exceeded that with a $120 million contract that will pay him an average of $30 million annually in Miami.
That’s the new standard for elite receiving talent going forward — a salary figure once reserved for starting quarterbacks, taking up between 12 to 15 percent of a team’s salary cap. Pro Bowl talent, based on deals signed by Mike Williams, Chris Godwin, and DJ Moore this offseason, is more affordable but still clocks in at $20 million per year — between eight to 10 percent of the league’s cap going forward.
