Christian Watson Just Made Jordan Addison More Expensive for the Vikings

If Christian Watson is getting a $110.5 million contract from the Green Bay Packers, how much is it going to cost the Minnesota Vikings to re-sign wide receiver Jordan Addison?

The short answer: Probably at least $30 million annually.

Watson is reportedly signing a four-year, $110.5 million deal that includes a $31 million signing bonus. That equates to $27.62 million annually for a wide receiver who has played in 48 of 68 regular-season games since the Packers drafted him in 2022.

Watson's best season was as a rookie, when he hauled in a career-high 41 passes for 611 yards and seven touchdowns. For his career, he's totaled 133 receptions for 2,264 yards and 20 touchdowns. That's an average of 33 catches, 566 yards, and five touchdowns.

If that's the kind of production that warrants a $110.5 million contract, then you can rest assured that Addison's next contract is going to blow that away.

"Christian Watson getting $110 million is a great example of the wide receiver market being wild right now — and a reminder that if the Vikings want to keep Jordan Addison around for the long haul, it’ll cost them," says our Vikings expert Will Ragatz. "In one fewer season and two fewer games, Addison has more receiving yards and touchdowns than Watson, and the differences might be greater if the Vikings’ 2025 quarterback play hadn't hurt all their receivers’ numbers. I'm still not sure it makes sense for Minnesota to extend Addison until next offseason, given his struggles to stay out of off-the-field trouble, but the price will only go up if he has a big bounce-back year with Kyler Murray at QB."

While Addison has had off-the-field troubles with multiple arrests, he's been more reliable as a pass-catcher and a healthy option. Since being selected by Minnesota in the first round of the 2023 draft, Addison has totaled 175 catches for 2,396 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Addison has averaged 58 catches, 798 yards, and seven touchdowns per season, while playing in 46 of a possible 51 regular-season games.

Comparing Watson's potential to Addison is fair enough, but the numbers and actual production do not lie. Addison gives the Vikings 75% more receptions per season than Watson gives the Packers, while also producing 40% more yards and touchdowns per season.

According to Over the Cap, Watson's average annual salary is now ranked 15th among wide receivers. Only 10 receivers are making an average of at least $30 million per year, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Addison will join that group when he eventually signs with the Vikings or another team.

Minnesota picked up Addison's fifth-year option for 2027, but the odds of him playing beyond the 2026 season without long-term guarantees are probably pretty low. The Vikings don't need to extend him before next season, but the risk of waiting until after the season is that his price could skyrocket with a productive campaign catching passes from Murray.

Either way, Watson's contract gives Addison and his representation incredible leverage to demand at least $30 million per season. With Justin Jefferson averaging $35 million per season, the Vikings could become the only team in the NFL with two wide receivers making $30+ million.

Is that a smart playbook? The only teams with two receivers earning an average of at least $27 million are the Bengals with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and the Cowboys with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.

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