Justin Jefferson desires to be paid. The Vikings have several rewards to do so

Justin Jefferson stepped out of a white Mercedes Maybach in the bowels of a nondescript arena. His Louis Vuitton tennisshoes hit the ground . His pearl-laden brown sweats swished as he strolled through the tunnel and into the arena. The large receiver was out and about, publishing on social media without a care in the world.

This wouldn’t actually haveactually been a huge offer, conserve for the truth that Jefferson’s own group has atthesametime began voluntary offseason exercises, without Jefferson in participation.

What makes this an even larger story is that Jefferson is due a brand-new agreement by the Minnesota Vikings. The previous Offensive Player of the Year is simply 24 years old and hasactually been a deal for Minnesota on his novice offer. Jefferson’s cap hit was simply over $4 million last season. Even in his 5th year on the workedout alternative, Jefferson is arranged to make $19.7 million in2024 While that’s absolutelynothing to snuff at, it puts him as the 12th highest-paid receiver when it comes to cap hit. At that wage, he’s behind gamers like Jacksonville’s Christian Kirk and Washington’s Terry McLaurin — neither of whom have OPOY or All-Pro honors under their belts.

Jefferson just played in 10 videogames last season and yet he still had over 1,000 getting lawns. His profession average per videogame is 98.3 backyards. He has a 68.1 percent catch rate. In his last complete season, which was his finest, he led the league in both receptions and getting backyards.

There is no doubt what he implies to the Minnesota Vikings.

So, what’s taking so long?

Jefferson endedupbeing eligible for an extension over a calendar year earlier. The large receiver bubble doesn’t appear like it’s breaking any time quickly, either. Had the Vikings extended Jefferson last offseason, they might have possibly gotten him under agreement for under $30 million. Miami’s Tyreek Hill endedupbeing the veryfirst receiver to be paid $30 million yearly right at that point, according to average agreement worth. Since then, 2 more receivers have signedupwith that club in Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown. The previous has an average income of $32 million as the highest-paid receiver in football.

It’ll take at least that much to lock down Jefferson now.

And the Vikings understand that.

“We think he’s the finest receiver in the league, and he oughtto be compensated as such,” stated basic supervisor Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in February.

A offer is impending, even if it hasn’t been worked out . It would be the supreme fumble by Minnesota to let a homegrown skill like Jefferson walk provided that his finest football is mostlikely still ahead of him — and for a long time, too.

When you are talking about resetting the market though, these things tend to take a bit longer.

Jefferson not being at OTA’s shouldn’t come as a shock, both since of the agreement talks and likewise because he wasn’t there last year, either. At this phase, OTA’s are voluntary. There are typically benefits connected to involvement however with a brand-new offer looming, those rewards for Jefferson are mostlikely verylittle if they exist at all. 

The one disadvantage of Jefferson’s lack is that Minnesota is now attempting to bring along a brand-new quarterback who they hope is their future. The Vikings took previous Michigan signal caller J.J. McCarthy with the 10th general choice in the 2024 NFL Draft. While he’s idea to be rather of a job offered his absence of passing statistics at Michigan, he’s likewise idea to have incredible upside, particularly offered that Minnesota’s lineup is stacked with skill.

The quicker McCarthy can mesh with that skill, the simpler his shift will be. Not having one of the finest receivers in football offered to aid him in the start is just making the procedure slower.

Still, Jefferson is anxious about himself and his agreement veryfirst and primary. No one can blame him for that. All reports are that Jefferson is still working out on his own like he does every offseason. 

But you understand what might attract him to do that training in Minnesota with their brand-new quarterback at the Vikings’ center, rather?

Cash. And a lot of it.

The cost is just going up. Minnesota would be sensible to lock Jefferson up as quickly as possible. 

Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She invested 6 seasons with the Bucs, consistingof 2020, which included the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade individual) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.