Justin Jefferson agrees to $140 million Vikings contract in record-setting deal
Justin Jefferson is staying with the Vikings on a record-setting contract.
The star wide receiver has agreed to a four-year, $140 million contract extension with $110 million guaranteed, according to multiple reports, making him the highest-paid receiver and highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Jefferson, 24, was the subject of trade rumors during the offseason as he was entering the final year of his rookie contract.
The Vikings announced the contract but did not confirm the financials.
“Something that once was a dream is now my reality,” Jefferson wrote in an X post with an accompanying video of him thanking his family and the Vikings. “There are so many people that I can sit here and thank but you all know who you are that helped me along the way. But we ain’t stopping here…. There’s more to be done… SKOL!!!!!!!”
The three-time Pro Bowler had 1,074 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games last season, and over four seasons he’s totaled 5,899 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Jefferson becomes the latest receiver to get a big-money contract extension this offseason, joining A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith and Nico Collins.
When the Vikings entered the offseason with quarterback uncertainty as Kirk Cousins was coming off a torn Achilles and entering free agency, speculation mounted about whether Jefferson, the No. 22 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of LSU, would be on the move.
Publicly, the team conveyed a trade was not something it was considering.
“That is not something that has once crossed my mind,” Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said during the NFL combine in February. “You got a blue(-chip) player, a blue(-chip) person, you try to keep as many of those as you can.”
Adofo-Mensah added that the two sides got “unbelievably close” on an extension last year and said Jefferson “should be compensated as” the best wide receiver and one of the best non-quarterbacks in the league.
The Pioneer Press recently reported there was “buzz” at the draft that the Vikings could move up to No. 5 to select Malik Nabers, also from LSU, and then trade Jefferson; the Giants ended up picking Nabers at No. 6.
After Cousins signed with the Falcons in free agency, the Vikings ended up trading with the Jets to move up one spot to No. 10 and selected Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
And now, the rookie signal-caller knows he’ll have one of the best weapons in football at his disposal for years to come.
