Justin Jefferson could be biggest winner of lucrative WR contracts

The biggest winner of the various wide receivers who got huge contracts this offseason is Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings.

2022 is the year when top NFL wide receivers got paid. After Christian Kirk signed his four-year, $72 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the big names at the position have all gotten new deals. From Davante Adams to Tyreek Hill to Cooper Kupp and more. The list has only grown.

On Tuesday, June 28, Terry McLaurin and the Washington Commanders agreed to terms on a three-year, $71 million contract, $54 million of which is reportedly guaranteed. Additionally, McLaurin received a $28 million signing bonus.

With the number of new deals that wideouts have gotten a couple of months into the new league year, perhaps the biggest winner of it all is Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings.

Justin Jefferson is biggest winner of wide receivers getting paid

Jefferson is only two seasons into his NFL career, but he has made history ever since the Vikings selected him out of LSU in the first round of the 2020 draft.

He was named to the All-Pro Second Team and the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons with Minnesota. That, and he broke Odell Beckham Jr’s record for most receiving yards through a receiver’s first two seasons. Beckham had recorded 2,755 receiving yards in his first two years in the NFL as a member of the New York Giants.

Jefferson has tallied 196 catches for 3,016 yards and 17 touchdowns on 292 targets in his first two years.

It will only be a matter of time until the Vikings have to negotiate a new deal with Jefferson, even though he has two more years and a fifth-year option remaining on his rookie contract. Take a look at the total guarantees of each wide receiver that signed a new contract this offseason, courtesy of Spotrac.

If Jefferson continues to play at this pace, he could very well be among the highest-paid wide receivers in the league.