Justin Jefferson Becomes NFL's Highest-Paid Non-QB

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00:00Justin Jefferson is now the highest paid non-quarterback in the National Football League as he signed

00:09a new contract.

00:10And, you know, naturally what happens is there's the trickle down from that.

00:13Will Tyreek Hill get a new deal?

00:15Will CeeDee Lamb get a new deal?

00:17But I think for us, let's focus here on Jefferson here for a minute.

00:20I think what the Vikings have shown him, Jacob, is that it doesn't matter who your quarterback

00:24is, we still believe you're the best wide receiver in the National Football League.

00:28Does that seem fair to you?

00:31I think that's fair 100%.

00:33I think the other thing they're saying is, we know that we're going to be transitioning

00:37you from a proven quarterback like Kirk Cousins, who, you know, you may look at him and say,

00:41oh, he hasn't had a lot of playoff success, but he's posted good stats and numbers during

00:46the regular season.

00:47So they're transitioning away from this proven guy towards J.J. McCarthy and Sam Darnold

00:52this season.

00:53So I think they're saying, we know we're going to have J.J. McCarthy on this rookie contract.

00:57We know things might be rough for you for a bit, but we're committing to you now because

01:01we know, like you said, Craig, he's one of the best receivers in the NFL and possibly

01:06one of the most important non-quarterbacks in the NFL.

01:09And they want to have top-tier weapons for McCarthy.

01:12And now they have them locked up with Jefferson and Jordan Addison, both under contract.

01:16So I think it was a smart move for them to get this done now.

01:19And I think $35 million a year, for Jefferson's perspective, is appropriate.

01:24For the Vikings' perspective, you look at it and you're saying, all right, this is a

01:28four-year deal.

01:29We're going to keep him.

01:30He'll still be in his prime.

01:31He'll still be around age 28, 29 when he gets his new deal.

01:34So I think that this is a mutually beneficial deal, especially when you look at the timing

01:40of the Vikings having a pretty cheap quarterback on board.