o a long-term contract that is likely to make the wide receiver the richest non-quarterback in NFL history.
In fact, that could well have been the primary motivation behind a plan to trade him during, or after, last month’s draft.
Charley Walters of The Pioneer Press reported on Sunday, May 26, that the “buzz” in late April was that the Vikings wanted to move up from No. 11 and into the top five not to select a franchise quarterback, like many thought, but to secure Jefferson’s replacement in the form of former LSU wideout Malik Nabers.
There was buzz at draft time that the Vikings wanted to move from No. 11 to No. 5, not to pick a QB but to get LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, who was picked No. 6 by the [New York] Giants,” Walters wrote, per The Purple Persuasion X account. “Had that trade occurred, Jefferson would have been traded and Nabers would have been the No. 1 receiver.
It is hard to imagine any team trying to move on from a three-time Pro Bowler, one-time All Pro and arguably the best receiver in the NFL at 24 years old and on the cusp of his prime. But if anything can motivate an organization into that line of thinking, it’s the kind of contract Jefferson is apparently trying to command.
The San Francisco 49ers made edge rusher Nick Bosa the highest-paid non-quarterback in the sport when they signed him to a five-year contract worth $170 million total ($34 million annual average value). Based on Schefter’s reporting, that puts Jefferson’s asking price somewhere in the range of $35 million annually over at least five years.
As good as Jefferson has been, at some point any deal outpaces a player’s value in a salary cap sport that allows teams to spend only so much on the entire 53-man roster plus the practice squad. The league’s 2024 cap number is around $255 million per team, meaning if Minnesota gives Jefferson the deal Schefter says he wants, the receiver will assume nearly 14% of the franchise’s available contract funds.
That kind of deal actually can work for Minnesota now, considering the cap sheet they’ve put together under center.
Sam Darnold is on a one-year deal worth $10 million, while rookie and No. 10 overall pick J.J. McCarthy just signed a four-year rookie contract for a little north of $5 million per season. Combined with the money the team has invested in Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall, the Vikings are currently on the hook for around $18 million in payments to their four quarterbacks in 2024.
Nine quarterbacks in the NFL currently earn at least $45 million annually, with five of those topping out at over $50 million per season, per Over The Cap. There is no way Minnesota could pay Jefferson what he wants and be competitive long-term if the team was also paying a signal-caller as expensive as Joe Burrow or Patrick Mahomes.
But because McCarthy and Hall are the only QBs on the books following the 2024 campaign and the Vikings have a reasonable shot of turning the former into a franchise quarterback, Minnesota should be able to avoid the backlash of trading one of the best players in the league in Jefferson.
