The wide receiver position in the NFL is getting more and more valuable, and it's being reflected big-time in the contracts being handed out. On Thursday, the Miami Dolphins and Jaylen Waddle agreed on a massive contract extension:
This just in: Miami and WR Jaylen Waddle reached agreement today on a three-year, $84.75 million contract extension that includes $76 million guaranteed, per sources. The deal makes Waddle one of the league’s top five highest-paid receivers.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 30, 2024
WME Football negotiated and confirmed… pic.twitter.com/ePTd2j0Z50
This contract extension is worth $28,250,000 per season, which ranks as the fourth-richest per year contract among all wide receivers. All of a sudden, the WR position is being compensated at insane levels.
AJ Brown has the richest WR deal in the NFL at $32 million per year. In second place, Amon-Ra St. Brown has a deal worth $30,002,500 per year. At third place is Waddle's teammate, Tyreek Hill, making $30 million per year. Fourth place is Waddle, and rounding out the top five is Davante Adams, making $28,000,000 per year.
After Adams, another 15 wide receivers are making at least $20 million per year. Ten wide receivers have total deals worth at least $75,000,000. No matter how you slice up these contracts, what's clear is how highly compensated they are now, and it's a huge change in the NFL over the last half-decade.
In the coming months perhaps, even more top-tier wide receivers should see massive extensions. Players like Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Justin Jefferson are all due for new contracts. and both Chase and Jefferson should be able to easily eclipse $30 million per season. Really, wide receivers are being compensated higher than top offensive linemen, which is flat-out bonkers.
They're being paid at the level of elite EDGE rushers. The position's value has shot up astronomically in recent years, and with the NFL become more of an offense-first league, it's easy to see why this position has seen a huge uptick in value. But on the flip side, NFL teams who have good wide receivers under more modest contracts are getting some killer deals.