After the draft, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was asked again about Justin Jefferson’s contract negotiations. The Minnesota Vikings general manager responded, “You know that friend that has a birthday that takes the month? I think Justin would deserve his whole month if we signed a contract to celebrate it.”
Yesterday, June became Justin Jefferson’s month. After months of negotiations and loads of idiotic rumors and speculations, the Vikings and the all-everything receiver have finally come to an agreement on that contract extension.
Some of the contract numbers:
4 years, $140 million
$88.7 million guaranteed at signing
Total Guarantees: $110 million
$38 million cash in 2024
Per year average: $35 million
The $35 million average per year is the highest for a non-quarterback.
Including the $19.7 that Jefferson was scheduled to receive for his fifth-year option, the total deal is five years for $159.7 million.
Cap hits:
2024: $8.5 million
2025: $15.3 million
2026: $39.1 million
2027: $43.4 million
2028: $47.3 million
2029: $6 million
At the end of this deal, Jefferson will be 29. That’s plenty young enough for another splendid contract. If everything goes as expected, the Vikings and Jefferson will probably look to re-work this contract before it even gets to the end of it. He must never play for another team.
Justin Jefferson deserves this deal and he deserves to be the highest paid non-quarterback. Hell, he deserves this sort of deal more than some of the quarterbacks ahead of him.
Despite all of the idiotic rumors and speculation that’s been a daily staple during the negotiations, there was never a doubt that this deal was going to get done. As a fan of a franchise with a history of trading away elite receivers like Randy Moss, Percy Harvin, and Stefon Diggs, there should’ve been a sprinkling of doubt. There wasn’t. There were issues beyond the field with each of the previous terrific pass-catchers. Through four years, there’s never been such issues with Justin Jefferson. On the field and off, he’s a player and person that you keep and make a franchise fixture. No receiver and few players have had a start to his career quite like Jefferson. The Vikings have been blessed with great receivers. I never thought it possible that another could approach Cris Carter and Randy Moss. In only four years, Jefferson has. You don’t trade that sort of player. You build statues.
I feel that this deal was done a few weeks ago. As Adofo-Mensah said after the draft, Justin Jefferson deserved a month to celebrate his big second contract. That month is June. With mandatory minicamp starting today, the timing is perfect.
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