Five players reached or surpassed $30MM per year in 2024, and the Justin Jefferson windfall raised the bar for former college teammate Ja’Marr Chase, whose 2024 triple-crown season jacked up the price on a Bengals extension. After Hill entered the 2024 offseason as the only $30MM-per-year receiver, Chase moved the market to $40MM per annum in 2025. That set up 2025 Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba to eclipse the Bengals wideout’s deal a year later.
On that note, here is a look at where the WR market has climbed during the rookie-scale era, which has set a firm structure on when teams could negotiate with players. This is how the top wideout salary has evolved since the 2011 CBA was ratified:
August 20, 2011
- Larry Fitzgerald signs seven-year, $113MM Cardinals extension
The eventual 17-year veteran played four seasons on this deal before reworking it ahead of the 2015 season
March 14, 2012
- Calvin Johnson signs seven-year, $113.45MM Lions deal
The Hall of Fame talent pushed the receiver AAV bar to $16.21MM, finishing his career on this contract four seasons later
March 8, 2016
- Johnson’s retirement bumps Bengals‘ four-year, $60MM A.J. Green extension (September 11, 2015) to top of market
February 27, 2017
- Steelers give Antonio Brown four-year, $68MM extension
Brown played two seasons on this deal before being traded to the Raiders in March 2019
August 27, 2018
- Giants sign Odell Beckham Jr. to five-year, $90MM extension
Beckham played four-plus seasons on this extension, being traded to the Browns in March 2019. Cleveland cut OBJ midway through the 2021 campaign.
July 31, 2019
- Michael Thomas signs five-year, $96.25MM Saints extension
Thomas spent four seasons on this contract, battling injuries before signing a reworked Saints deal in March 2023
September 7, 2019
- Falcons hand Julio Jones three-year, $66MM extension
Jones played out this contract, which the Falcons traded to the Titans in June 2021
September 8, 2020
- Cardinals give DeAndre Hopkins two-year, $54.5MM extension
Months after acquiring Hopkins via trade, the Cardinals added guaranteed money to the All-Pro’s through-2022 Texans extension. This pushed the position’s AAV ceiling to $27.25MM, which set up the 2022 offseason’s developments. Hopkins played three seasons on this deal, being released in May 2023.
March 17, 2022
- Raiders acquire Davante Adams in tag-and-trade transaction with Packers, authorize five-year, $140MM extension
The Raiders traded Adams to the Jets in October 2024; New York released Adams in March 2025
March 23, 2022
- Dolphins obtain Tyreek Hill via trade from Chiefs, hand over four-year, $120MM deal
The Dolphins approved a guarantee influx for Hill in summer 2024 but released the All-Pro in February 2026
April 24, 2024
- Amon-Ra St. Brown signs four-year, $120.01MM Lions extension
April 25, 2024
- A.J. Brown tops St. Brown deal with three-year, $96MM Eagles accord
June 3, 2024
- Justin Jefferson receives four-year, $140MM Vikings extension
March 16, 2025
- Ja’Marr Chase tops his former LSU teammate with four-year, $161MM Bengals deal
March 23, 2026
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba lands four-year, $168.6 Seahawks extension
Well we knew WRs weren’t just going to stand by and watch while QBs got absurd money. The TEs will be watching these WR salaries and want to get on the gravy train too. Perhaps the NFL will be playing 7 on 7 football by the start of the next decade if the salaries keep escalating.
Teams burning crazy QB money and crazy WR money will have no defense and no offensive line. Will be a very strange league, with highly unbalanced teams on the horizon.
Rookie contract receivers and rookie contract QB’s will be the only way to rebound to the playoffs soon.
It’s a terrible game model in my view and probably not sustainable. The Pro Bowl caliber players will be getting a fortune while everyone else on the roster will get Walmart salaries. If a team loses a few of their top salaried players to injuries the season is basically over for the fans. Goodell is convinced he can sell a product this unstable to foreign market investors but I’m very skeptical.