10 highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL in 2024: Jaylen Waddle joins the list

Across the NFL, some of the league’s greatest wide receivers have been in a contractual holding pattern. 

Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, and San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk are among the many young, rising stars waiting to sign long-term deals with their respective teams.

As the league’s revenue and salary cap have grown exponentially, so has the wide receiver market. With each new wide receiver contract attempting to earn more than the last, being the last one to sign has often proven to be more lucrative than being the first to do so.

While ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio speculated that the wide receiver market may experience a dip, the reason for the silence across the league has more to do with a potential stalemate between the players. The league’s top options have been waiting for the first domino to fall, which they could use as a benchmark to reference and leapfrog in their own deal.

The Miami Dolphins signed wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to a three-year, $84.7 million contract extension with $76 million guaranteed, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 

The new deal makes Waddle the fourth-highest paid wide receiver with an average annual salary of $28.2 million.

The deal may open the floodgates for wide receivers to begin signing record-setting contract extensions. For now, here’s a look at the league’s ten highest-paid wide receivers by average salary after Waddle’s deal.

Highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL

Five of the 10 highest-paid wide receivers signed their contracts this offseason. Three of those five are ranked among the top four deals.

This offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles made A.J. Brown the highest-paid wide receiver with a $32 million annual salary. Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown inked a deal worth $30 million per year — second-most in the league. 

Waddle’s new deal places him behind his running mate, Dolphins speedster Tyreek Hill, who signed a $30 million per year deal following his trade from the Kansas City Chiefs. Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams rounds out the top five with a $28 million per year figure he earned from a 2022 contract extension.