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Justin Jefferson wasn’t present at the Minnesota Vikings organized team activities on Monday as he awaits a long-term contract extension, which has everyone wondering just what a new deal might look like—or if the team would consider trading him.
ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported during Tuesday’s SportsCenter that the latter is unlikely:
“[The Vikings] are not yet concerned. They do have 3.5 months, and this is something that they have been adamant about all offseason, that they have no inclination to trade Jefferson, to try to keep him on his fifth-year option that he will play under this coming season if they don’t get a long-term deal done. They’ve been clear they want to sign him, and they know what it’s going to cost. The thing is, can they get the framework of this structure right in the next couple of months? Of course, we know that this is going to be a contract that’s going to cost them above $30 million per year. This will be a record-breaking contract for the wide receiver position. The Vikings know that. They still want Jefferson, and they will continue to work to get that done.”
Here’s where things get interesting for the Vikings. If they wait too long to ink an extension, the extension CeeDee Lamb is expected to eventually sign with the Dallas Cowboys could even further inflate Jefferson’s market value.
Jefferson is going to seek to be the highest-paid wideout in football, which would take him above the $32 million annual average salary of A.J. Brown, who agreed to a three-year, $96 million extension with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.
The Vikings surely know they’ll be in that ballpark or higher for Jefferson. But one sticking point could be how much guaranteed money the deal includes. Brown has $84 million guaranteed in his deal—could Jefferson exceed $90 million? Or even $100 million?
It’s going to be a massive figure, whatever the two sides agree upon.
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