Justin Jefferson’s comments prove Vikings are in for rude awakening

Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson is already on the lookout for a new contract down the line. The wide receiver market has skyrocketed.

Large contracts given out to the likes of Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams and Stefon Diggs have reset the wide receiver market completely, with the emphasis on guaranteed money. By the time Justin Jefferson gets paid — whether it be by the Vikings or elsewhere — he’ll have a chance to be the highest-paid player at his position.

Jefferson knows this, which is why he’s saying all the right things in preparation for those negotiations.

“(I’m) excited for them and excited for what I have in store,” Jefferson said, via The Athletic. “Just knowing some of the players that got signed and just knowing that I can have some more great years here with this team, so (I have) definitely been looking into that and been keeping sight on that.”

Vikings: Justin Jefferson excited to get paid

Rookie deals are affordable, and there’s a reason for that. The Vikings have been able to build a wide receiving corps around Jefferson and Adam Thielen for years now, but eventually the former will receive his market value contract.

And for Jefferson, that means resetting the market entirely, as there isn’t an appropriate value on him right now.

“I have so many goals in store,” Jefferson said. “I’m over the rookie year, I’m over the second year, it’s on to Year Three now. There’s a target on my back at this point. I’m planning on keeping on going up. They’re always going to have players in the league that are going to try and stop me and what we’ve got going on.”

Assuming he puts up the kind of numbers the Vikings think he’s capable of, they’ll gladly back up the brinks truck for him. The LSU product has 196 catches for 3,016 yards and 17 touchdowns over the last two seasons.