MINNEAPOLIS — The nail-biting is over.
After months of drawn-out negotiations, rampant rumors and most of all, disconcerting quiet, the Minnesota Vikings announced Monday that a new contract agreement has been reached with stellar wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
The four-year deal, reported by one NFL insider as being worth $140 million, should keep Jefferson in purple and gold through the 2028 season. ESPN's Adam Schefter says JJ's new contract, verified by his agents at WME Football, is a benchmark in the game that will make him the highest-paid wideout in league history.
"From the moment I arrived in Minnesota, Justin has consistently proven to be one of the best players in the NFL on and off the field and we are excited about having him as a cornerstone of our team for a long time to come," said Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in a released statement. "He is the living embodiment of our culture with his joyful dedication to process and our goals."
“I would not be in this position if not for my family and their support. I’m so thankful for them instilling a foundational gratitude and competitive fire within me," Jefferson reflected after the new deal was announced. " I’d like to thank the Wilf family, Kevin O’Connell, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the entire Vikings organization for believing in me and trusting me to help lead this team. To all my teammates and coaches from the very beginning as a kid in Louisiana, all the way to the NFL, thank you for always being there for me and pushing me. Lastly, to Vikings fans everywhere, you’ll continue to get my very best each and every day. SKOL!”
Despite missing seven games during the 2023-24 season, Jefferson racked up 1,074 receiving yards, making him only the fifth wide receiver in NFL history (after Michael Thomas, Mike Evans, A.J. Green and the Vikings' own Randy Moss) to top 1,000 yards in each of their first four seasons. JJ's total of 5,899 in those four seasons is more than any receiver in the history of the league.
Since being selected by The Purple in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Jefferson has been selected for three Pro Bowls, named to the All-Pro team twice, and honored as the AP's 2022 Offensive Player of the Year.
The signing comes as good news for Vikings fans, many of whom feared Jefferson would play out his rookie deal this year and enter the free agent market. The two sides came “unbelievably close” to an extension last summer, GM Adofo-Mensah said earlier this spring, but ultimately couldn't get it done.
It is widely expected that Jefferson's new deal will be the new benchmark for top-flight receivers in the NFL. There will be great interest in his numbers for the upcoming season, now that veteran Kirk Cousins, the QB who used Jefferson as his security blanket the past four years, has departed for Atlanta.
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