‘Blessed’ Christian Watson Gets Four-Year Contract Extension

GREEN BAY, Wis. – “I’m in a great spot. I feel blessed to be in this position that I’m in today,” Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson said at OTAs on Tuesday.

Watson can count even greater blessings now. On Thursday, Watson and the Packers agreed to a four-year, $110.5 million contract extension, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. The deal includes a $31 million signing bonus.

“I definitely want to be here long term so, hopefully, we can work something out long term,” he said a day later.

ESPN sources: Green Bay WR Christian Watson and the Packers reached agreement today on a four-year, $110.5 million contract extension that includes a $31 million signing bonus. pic.twitter.com/rXksmDASuB
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 4, 2026

The contract will keep Green Bay’s new “Big 3” receivers together through at least the 2028 season. Watson’s extension will keep him under contract through 2030. Jayden Reed’s three-year, $50.25 million extension will keep him under contract through 2029. Matthew Golden, the team’s first-round pick in 2025, will be under contract through at least 2028 and perhaps 2029, depending on his fifth-year option.

If the money for Watson is accurate and not inflated, which is sometimes the case in the preliminary reporting, the $27.625 million average will rank 15th among receivers, according to OverTheCap.com. That does not include the big deal signed this week by the Falcons' Drake London.

Watson was scheduled to play this season under the one-year extension agreed just before Week 1, when he was still rehabbing his way back from the torn ACL sustained in the 2024 finale. His base salary for this season was set to be $3.425 million.

A second-round pick in 2022 whose career has been sidetracked by injuries, Watson came back from the ACL injury to play the best ball of his career. In 10 games, he caught 35 passes for 611 yards and six touchdowns.

Put that over 17 games, and that equates to about 60 catches for 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Packers, of course, haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since trading Davante Adams after the 2021 season.

Watson ranked second among receivers with 17.5 yards per catch and fifth with 2.51 yards per route. He received one vote for second-team All-Pro.

How was he so successful last season without the benefit of offseason practices or training camp?

“Really just being mindful, finding ways to have the stuff I was doing off to the side translate,” he said this week. “I was always trying to find a way to do something that was going to be beneficial to me when I’d get back out on the field. Just maintaining that confidence through the offseason.

“I felt that before the injury, maybe stat-wise it wasn’t up to where I wanted it to be, but I thought I was playing really well and in a good spot, so just holding that throughout the offseason and through the rehab process and hitting the ground running when I got back.”

Watson isn’t just a big, fast downfield threat. He’s a leader in the locker room. He’s the unit’s best blocker. He’s developed into a sure-handed, all-around threat. He can make plays deep or on crossing routes, and he can win from the outside or in the slot.

Green Bay Packers Christian Watson (9) catches a pass during practice on Tuesday, June 2. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I think that’s maybe some receivers, when you see Year 2 to 3, or 3 to 4, receivers kind of hit that prime, where they’re on a level, like a quarterback,” passing game coordinator Jason Vrable said last month.

“We talked in the room the other day. We were talking about coverages and Christian’s answering every single coverage. ‘That’s where the hook should be in Cover-2.’ He can almost get 100 on most of our tests right now, so he’s smart.”

With experience comes wisdom and maturity.

“He came back, I think he was poised,” Vrable continued. “And then I think mentally, the other thing he did a good job of, was not being like this [motions up and down]. I think he stayed a lot more even-keeled than maybe his first two years, where he had a bad play or a drop, and you get all emotional and it takes you out of the game. I think he did a lot better job of playing play to play and living in the moment. And he did a great job for us to finish off the year.”

Watson will have a new but familiar position coach this year with the hiring of Noah Pauley, who coached him at North Dakota State.

“Yeah, it’s been really cool,” Pauley said last month. “The opportunity to be able to see and coach a guy from the age of 18 to 22 years old when he’s trying to just grow and mature and do those things and have the opportunity to come back four, five years later and reunite with him and see him at a different stage of life of, he’s married, has a kid, you know what I mean?

“Some of those things are really cool, to see his growth and where he’s grown within the room, as well. So, it’s been really cool.”

In 10 games last season, Watson had 80-plus yards in four; the Packers went 3-1. They went 2-0 when he scored two touchdowns.

“He’s really intelligent, he’s very professional and I love the way he carries himself and goes about it,” Vrable said last year. “I think he’s a great teammate and he represents what it is to be a G. We talk about being a G, a Green Bay Packer, he wears it on and off the field. I always say the ball finds energy, and his energy is contagious right now in our building.”

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