The saying “a rising tide lifts all boats” is hardly ever as relevant as when it comes to NFL contracts. Every offseason, players at leading positions like quarterback and wide receiver signal gigantic contracts that reset the sector. Those gamers reign as the greatest-paid at their respective positions… until eventually the future contract is signed by a superstar that makes them the maximum-paid player at their position and resets the market.
It truly is a cycle that repeats alone and has several ripple results, the most common of which is that gamers at these positions just keep earning far more and additional income. Each and every new superstar deal sets the stage for the up coming.
Which delivers us to Monday, when Justin Jefferson aided out all his colleagues all around the league by getting a record-placing amount of money of dollars. News broke in the morning that Jefferson had agreed to a four-12 months, $140 million offer with $110 million certain with the Minnesota Vikings. The extension would make Jefferson the highest-compensated broad receiver in the NFL and the maximum-compensated non-quarterback in football heritage.
It is of course nicely-deserved for Jefferson. It is also a boon for other vast receivers close to his level who are negotiating their very own major-time contracts. In this article are four receivers in individual who will profit from Jefferson’s file-environment offer in their respective negotiations.
Lamb is the name you may most likely see the most floating all-around in the wake of the Jefferson offer. The Cowboys star attained very first-team All-Pro honors in 2023, posting a league-foremost 135 catches for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. Pound-for-pound, he might not be as proficient as Jefferson but he is absolutely in a related tier of match-modifying receiver— and he really should get paid like it, too.
In addition to their other similarities, Lamb was component of Jefferson’s draft class, which means he is getting into the remaining calendar year of his rookie agreement and really should get an extension this offseason from the franchise that drafted him. That extension will now be a great deal pricier with Jefferson’s offer in location. Jerry Jones has been insisting all offseason that the Cowboys are “all in” for 2024, but the absence of extensions for Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott have been a massive conversing place.
Irrespective of when the offer will get carried out (and who it receives accomplished with), Lamb will be negotiating from a situation of toughness after Jefferson reset the industry and it would not be a shock to see him conclude up the greatest-compensated receiver in the league.
Chase is one of the handful of wideouts who can lay legit declare to Jefferson’s throne as greatest receiver in the NFL. He is a genuine recreation-breaker who can and will dominate defenses on the suitable working day. In 2023, Chase posted an even 100 catches for 1,216 yards and seven touchdowns even with lacking two online games to injury and catching passes from several different quarterbacks amid Joe Burrow’s own harm-plagued campaign.
With an All-Professional nomination to his title by now in his young profession, Chase is generally tabbed as the next receiver to sign a definitely ludicrous offer. Lamb is probable future in line to reset the market but Chase is likely to need even bigger dollars specified his instant and too much to handle dominance from Day 1.
The exciting part of Chase’s problem, nevertheless, is that he nonetheless has two seasons still left on his rookie offer. This gives the Bengals more leverage than other teams on this checklist simply because they have a complete additional offseason to get him below contract in advance of he enters the ultimate calendar year of his offer. Cincinnati is incentivized to get it carried out as shortly as attainable, simply because as laid out above, the rate tag will just preserve likely up. Jefferson’s deal is just not way too undesirable a starting off stage for possibly aspect.
Chase is established to get paid, possibly this offseason or the future.
Aiyuk has been in trade rumors all offseason so who knows where he’ll close up by the time the time kicks off in September. Where ever that may perhaps be, he will virtually definitely sign a new offer in the coming months he is entering the last year of his rookie contract and will want a raise from somebody. The Jefferson agreement will give him a huge strengthen.
Unlike the earlier mentioned two players, Aiyuk is not fairly in that celebrity tier stage of player that will split several information on putting pen to paper. He had 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023, and enjoying in Kyle Shanahan’s unbelievably successful offense probably hurts much more than will help him.
A more apt comparison might be Amon-Ra St. Brown, an superb participant who was briefly the greatest-paid receiver in the league this offseason right after signing a four-yr, $120 million offer in April with $77 million certain. That will very likely be the comparison place when contract negotiations get underway.
Even acknowleding that, Aiyuk will have the advantage of the Jefferson deal that St. Brown did not. He really should be in line for a more substantial payday than he was ahead of.
Higgins was franchise-tagged by the Bengals this offseason after enjoying out the closing yr of his deal. A whole lot of what occurs with Higgins will count on what occurs with Chase, but negotiations between Higgins and the Bengals are basically non-existent at this juncture, according to the latest reports, and he’s nevertheless to signal the tag. So it truly is really anybody’s guess right now as to how very long Higgins is intended for Cincinnati and if he’ll indicator a new deal there or somewhere else.
Nevertheless, when Higgins does get to the negotiating desk, the Jefferson offer will be quite beneficial. Like Aiyuk, Higgins is not a celebrity, but he’s really excellent and can reasonably assert he’ll publish even far better quantities as the No. 1 selection in its place of throughout from a expertise like Chase. As is, Higgins recorded 42 catches for 656 yards and five touchdowns final time– all profession-lows, stemming from injury troubles that forced him to miss out on six game titles and the very same quarterback troubles that Chase had to offer with.
He is in line for a great increase one particular way or the other, and the Jefferson contract will enable as a reference place in negotiations.
