The Jacksonville Jaguars were very active on the first day of free agency, so much in fact that they essentially reset the wide receiver market drawing a number of reactions throughout the league.
Former Arizona Cardinals receiver Christian Kirk was rumored to be requesting a contract of $15 million dollars or more per season. Kirk achieved more than that, drawing a remarkable contract from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kirk signed a four-year deal for a maximum of $84 million (with incentives) making his average salary $18 million dollars. Kirk also received a signing bonus of $20 million.
The contract was a surprise to many, especially considering during Kirk’s tenure on the Cardinals he never reached 1,000 receiving yards since he was drafted there in the second round of the draft in 2018.
Kirk has jumped around the roster as the second or third-ranked receiver on the depth chart, in 2021 he was sharing the field with the highest-paid receiver in the league, DeAndre Hopkins, and former Bengals WR AJ Green.
Kirk is a gifted athlete with strong hands and decent speed it is confusing that he would be paid so handsomely when he has never been the top receiver for his team, let alone within the league. While it was reported that Kirk was now the third highest-paid receiver he still falls down the list (per OvertheCap.com) and lands at #9. It is still startling to see the company Kirk joins on the list that have far greater accomplishments;
- DeAndre Hopkins
- Julio Jones
- Davante Adams (new contract pending)
- Keenan Allen
- Mike Williams
- Amari Cooper
- Michael Thomas
- Chris Godwin
- Christian Kirk
You know the phrase “one of these things is not like the other”? This phrase applies considerably for this particular signing. While Godwin and Mike Williams are also considered “backup” receivers or WR2s, their production far outweighs Kirk logging multiple 1k receiving yard seasons. The rest on the list are bonified primary/starting wide receivers or WR1s.
- 77 receptions- ranked 24th
- 982 receiving yards- ranked 27th
- 5 touchdowns- ranked 40th
- Avg completion was 12.8 yards- ranked 46th
Not only was Kirk unable to secure any position rankings in the top 15, he only breached the top 30 receivers in two categories. By comparison, Buccaneers wide receiver, Mike Evans, who is the 14th highest-paid receiver in the league and recently won a Super Bowl, never fell below 29th in any of his stats and was 2nd overall in touchdowns with 14. Evans is paid $1.5 million less than Kirk yearly.
Current receivers will certainly be re-examining their own contracts after the Jaguars put this contract on the table and you better believe many agents will be getting calls from their clients seeking extensions or addendums to their current contracts (keep an eye on Packers Davante Adams contract request with this new contract as leverage).
Several cornerbacks throughout the league are questioning their own worth and position choices after seeing this contract.
I need to start working on my routes… back peddling is not it no more!! 😂
— Darius Slay (@bigplay24slay) March 14, 2022
You have to give the Jacksonville Jaguars credit for attempting to go “all in” on the first day of free agency, spending more than $150 million dollars to start. But the Christian Kirk signing has already taken the lead as far as an “overpay” for the free agency period and it will be tough to beat as teams continue to sign available players.