Vikings GM on Justin Jefferson contract: ‘We’re excited to work towards it’
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The NFL Draft is over, and now Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s next top priority with the Minnesota Vikings is making sure star receiver Justin Jefferson stays in purple.
He gave a brief update Saturday on Jefferson’s contract situation after the draft. If there were conversations happening between the Vikings and Jefferson’s representation, they took a pause for the NFL Draft.
"We continue to have great dialogue with the representatives, the process is ongoing. We did say ‘Hey, a couple days, the draft is coming.’ They obviously have players that they represent, we have our process. Either way whenever we sign him, we want Justin to have his whole week," Adofo-Mensah said. "Everyone has the birthday that takes the month, I think Justin would deserve his whole month if we signed a contract to celebrate it. We’re excited to work towards it, we’re going to keep going. You can’t talk about all these plans with all the visions and not talk about the king lynchpin, so we’re going to keep working towards that end goal."
Jefferson is seeking to become the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL as he enters the final year of his rookie contract. He’ll make about $19.7 million in 2024. He might have gotten an idea what his next payday will look like during the draft. The Lions signed Amon-Ra St. Brown to a four-year, $120 million extension, with $77 million guaranteed. The Eagles signed A.J. Brown to a three-year, $96 million extension, with $84 million guaranteed.
Jefferson will likely be seeking around $35 million per season. Despite missing seven games with a hamstring injury last season, Jefferson still had 68 catches for 1,074 yards and five touchdowns. Entering his fifth season in Minnesota, Jefferson has 392 catches for 5,899 yards and 30 touchdowns.
He’ll be catching passes from either Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy this season. Whatever the case, don’t expect to see Jefferson on a Vikings’ practice field until mandatory mini camp in June. He won’t participate in OTAs, which are voluntary, and there’s no reason to have concern about his future in Minnesota until June at the earliest.