Terry McLaurin‘s contract saga has come to an end. The Pro Bowl wideout finalized an extension with the Commanders on Monday, as first reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz. 
This is a three-year accord, per Schultz. He adds McLaurin’s new deal is worth over $96MM. One year remained on his pact prior to today’s news. As a result, McLaurin is now on the books through 2028. This pact contains a $30MM signing bonus, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network adds.
Multiple reports indicate $96MM actually represents the maximum value of this accord. In any event, today’s agreement ends the questions related to McLaurin’s future in Washington. A trade request was issued in response to extension talks failing to progress as hoped. At no point did it appear likely a swap would take place, however, with the Commanders intending to move forward without entertaining trade offers.
McLaurin was briefly absent from training camp, but he later reported and was moved to the active/PUP list. Upon being activated, the 29-year-old was not a full practice participant. Uncertainty loomed in this case as the countdown to Week 1 continued without much in the way of progress being made. After a spell without the parties speaking to one another, though, the expected outcome in this case has arrived.
Exact figures on McLaurin’s initial asking price did not emerge, but over the course of the offseason it became clear the Commanders were taken aback by it. Concerns related to the Ohio State product’s age were a sticking point in negotiations, but today’s pact means McLaurin will remain in the nation’s capital through the foreseeable future (and across the remainder of quarterback Jayden Daniels‘ rookie contract). This marks the second time in his career McLaurin has taken a three-year extension (whereas four-year pacts are common for high-profile receivers).
As the wait for precise details on this extension continues, it is clear McLaurin has secured a major raise. He was owed a base salary of $15.5MM for 2025 with a cap charge of $25.5MM; both figures will change once the deal is finalized. An average annual value of $32MM would put him in a tie for sixth amongst receivers and fall just short of D.K. Metcalf‘s Steelers accord. The Metcalf deal has long been viewed as a comparable one for McLaurin, although he did not deem it necessary to match it entirely.
Receiver depth was an issue for the Commanders last year, and general manager Adam Peters swung a trade with his former team to acquire Deebo Samuel. The former All-Pro will add a unique element to Washington’s offense in 2025, but he is a pending free agent. Especially against the backdrop of a potential Samuel departure next spring, hammering out a long-term McLaurin pact was critical for the team. The top of Washington’s WR depth chart is now set to remain intact for years to come.
McLaurin has topped 1,000 yards in each of the past five seasons, and in 2024 he comfortably set a new career high with 13 touchdowns. A strong connection with Daniels could help the Commanders in their effort to duplicate last year’s run to the NFC title game. McLaurin has been available for a full campaign every year since 2021, so durability should not be a concern as he plays out his third NFL pact.
Expectations will be high for McLaurin in the wake of this news, something which will pave the way for a return to practice. He will spend the coming days ramping up in advance of Week 1, and another productive season would set the Commanders up for successful campaign while also proving their investment to be worthwhile.
I guess past performance does count for something huh
Even more so, the Commanders have very light salary commitments on their salary cap going forward so if the worst case happens, absorbing a $20 million per year cap hit over a couple of years while they control their QB is manageable. Hopefully he is in football shape and does not pull a hamstring or something like that this year. Definitely a high integrity guy and hard worker.
It’s a steep price, but they didn’t have much choice. They weren’t going to go into Jayden Daniels’ second season with playoff aspirations, an old roster, and a receiver group where the surest thing by a country mile is Deebo Samuel.
It’s concerning that McLaurin is older for a player who’s only been in the league six years, but there’s also nothing more they could have asked him to show in those six years through a lot of bad situations.
Not really. Top of the market now is $40 mil. I said $33 mil would get it done.
Yeah, but there’s a $5 million a year dropoff from first to second. This places McLaurin with the top 6 in football, and he’s older than all the other guys up there with him by at least two years.
Wont matter if he can continue to give them 12 or more TDs a year …
The 1000 yards are more important. You can’t be counting on him to repeat a touchdown number he’s achieved exactly one time.
True, but Daniels is different and if Deebo can stay healthy and motivated, will benefit everybody.
Other players will pass this deal in the next couple of years, and the cap will keep going up. That crop from the first round last year will be getting $50 mil a year in a couple of years when they’re extension elligible. It’s a fair market price right now even at his age. I do think his age is why they didn’t want to do it at this price, but this was always where they would meet. my guess is that he was asking for $35 or $36 mil, and they wanted to do $30 mil, so they met somewhere in the middle.
He’ll be holding out in a year for more.
Well deserved. I say
I almost hit the number right on the head.
I like to see how much is guaranteed and how the contract is structured?
Whose actually able to say what someone is worth in dollars? If McLaurin is the guy all the fans can get behind and he takes on face of the franchise like mentality then all this is just dollars if what he can be worth on the field matches what he could be off the field and in his community.