Minnesota Vikings Exercise Justin Jefferson’s Fifth Year Option
In some of the most unsurprising news of the week in the NFL, a few first round standouts from the 2020 NFL Draft had their fifth-year contract options exercised in the past few days.
Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals was an absolute no brainer to have his fifth-year option exercised, and now the Minnesota Vikings have taken care of their star player as well, exercising the option for fourth year wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
Per ProFootballTalk:
There was never any doubt that the Vikings would do it, but today it became official, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
That means Jefferson is guaranteed a salary of $19.7 million for the 2024 season. In 2023 he’ll make a $2.4 million base salary in the fourth year of his rookie contract.
Of course, there’s a good chance Jefferson and the Vikings will agree to a new long-term contract before that. Jefferson’s second contract should make him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history.
The 23-year-old Jefferson has been a Pro Bowler in all three of his NFL seasons and is coming off his best year, having led the NFL with 128 catches and 1,809 receiving yards last season. He was chosen as the NFL’s offensive player of the year, and he’s as valuable as any non-quarterback in football.
Jefferson has been a staple on the Vikings offense since his very first game with the team, and will be for the forseeable future.
Now fans will just need to wait and see how much of a priority Jefferson's soon-to-be-expiring contract is for the Vikings from office. It doesn't need to be immediate, but better sooner than later when dealing with a star player of Jefferson's caliber.
Source: Pro Football Talk (MSN)