Predicting Justin Jefferson's impending 'market-altering' contract with Vikings

It is good to be Justin Jefferson these days. The star wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings has flourished in his first four years out of LSU. Despite being a first-round pick, Jefferson has never made big money because he came off the board in the 20s. Since pretty much his second year in the league, Jefferson has been a top-five wide receiver in football. Therefore, he is about to get so paid!

On Saturday's SportsCenter, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler gave some insight into what kind of deal Jefferson could be getting from the Vikings. He hinted that the Vikings are "pretty motivated" to get a deal done sooner rather than later. Jefferson is currently playing out the fifth-year option of his rookie deal. Minnesota also has a rough history of not paying its top wide receivers the money they desired.

The good news for everyone involved is that they are on the same page about setting the market.

"This is going to be a market-altering deal when it does happen with Minnesota. I'm told the Vikings are pretty motivated here. They want to try to get something done, they've been in active discussions with Jefferson and his representation. So this could not only be making him the highest-paid wide receiver, but the highest-paid non-quarterback, potentially."

For reference, the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL is San Francisco edge rusher Nick Bosa.

"Nick Bosa makes $34 million a year, we'll see if he can get to that threshold, but this should get done at some point in the coming weeks and months this summer, that's the Vikings' goal, so they're pretty dedicated to doing it."

Let's now discuss what a record-setting deal for a wide receiver could look like for Jefferson.

How much money could Justin Jefferson make on his new contract?

With Bosa making $34 million a year and Stefon Diggs pulling in nearly $30 million himself now that he plays for the Houston Texans, we are looking at a multi-year deal worth somewhere in the low-to-mid-30s in terms of average annual value for Jefferson. Let's assume a five-year deal for Jefferson in trying to figure out what the dollar amount will be. $35 million annually over five years is $175 million.

To reset the market, all Jefferson would need to do is get above Diggs' $29.765 million mark for wide receivers. So even with a $30 million mark over five years, that gets Jefferson to $150 million. Although the $35 million a year figure is not that much more than what Bosa makes from the San Francisco 49ers, it is still over $5 million more than the highest-paid wide receiver currently pulls.

To make things simple, I would say Jefferson is the type of talent at a major position of need to merit being the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. That number feels like $35 million, maybe even $36 million. No, I don't think the Vikings are trying their damnedest to dwarf every other receiver's contract in the market. I feel that number is going to be closer to $34 million annually than $36 million.

For my money, I would have no problem giving Jefferson a five-year deal worth $175 million in total.