Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Oliver Connolly

The NFL’s gaga receiver market is the straw that’s stirring this year’s draft

Drake London
USC wide receiver Drake London was the first of six wide receivers selected within the first 18 picks of Thursday night’s first round of the NFL draft. Photograph: John Locher/AP

What happens when the league’s tragicomedy franchise hands a market-resetting contract to a middling receiver? Lunacy. Absolute lunacy.

The stench of the four-year, $72m deal that the Jaguars handed to Christian Kirk in the opening hours of free agency last month wafted through Las Vegas during the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday. Someday soon, we’ll look back on the Kirk signing as the first domino that injected chaos into the NFL’s carefully calibrated ecosystem – a sliding doors moment that will swing divisional races, title games and that most vapid of terms: Legacies.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.