ESPN's Fowler: 'Two potential hurdles' before Justin Jefferson extension
Make no mistake, the Minnesota Vikings have clear intentions to sign wide receiver Justin Jefferson to a contract extension. But when it happens is the million dollar question, and according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Vikings aren't rushing to get a deal done.
“Talking about receivers, you see Justin Jefferson there. Could be big money on the way at some point,” Fowler said Sunday on ESPN's Sportscenter. “The Vikings believe he’s a cornerstone player. Best wide receiver in the league. They want to sign him to an extension at some point.
“Two potential hurdles in the way though. He’s only three years in to a rookie deal that has two years left with a fifth-year option. There’s no major rush to do it right now. And then the market for receivers, you’re looking at around $30 million or more. Tyreek Hill makes $30 million a year on a big deal, so they might need to make Justin Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. So those are some hurdles, but certainly the Vikings want to do it at some point. Jefferson is expected at training camp regardless.”
Making Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL would mean he'd need to get paid more than defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who is set to make $31.6 million from the Rams in 2023.
"I don't want to be the Vikings' GM without that guy on our team," Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has said. "It's not really something that I'm really worried about or I have my mind set on."
Related: Jefferson isn't making contract situation dramatic ... for now
“I don’t really see it as a cloud hanging over my head,” Jefferson said about his contract situation at mandatory minicamp last week. “At the end of the day I’m still going to be myself, still going to be playing the same way. The contract comes with the game but my agent handles that.”
Jefferson said there's no doubt he'll attend training camp. He's under contract in 2023 for about $2.4 million and his 2024 salary is schedule to be $19.8 million. He's way underpaid according to market value in 2023 and even at nearly $20 million in 2024 he'll still be underpaid considering he's arguably the best receiver in the game.
As Purple Insider's Matthew Coller wrote last week, "there’s no amount of smiling and giving non-controversial answers that will keep JJ’s contract from becoming a major talking point" if he's not locked up to a long-term deal by the start of the upcoming season.
