Since 2011, the NFL's collective bargaining agreement has given teams the option of adding a fifth year to the rookie contract of a first-round pick. In that time, the Vikings might never have faced an easier decision than the one they made Tuesday.
They exercised wide receiver Justin Jefferson's fifth-year option, according to a league source, keeping the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year under contract for the 2024 season. Jefferson, who has been to the Pro Bowl in each of his three seasons, would be in line to make $19.743 million in 2024. He and Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs are the only players in the 2020 draft class who secured an escalator clause in their fifth-year option by making multiple Pro Bowls in their first three years.
For Jefferson, the fifth-year option could merely be a precursor to a bigger payday.
Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has called a Jefferson extension a "high priority," and it seems only a matter of time before the Vikings try to finalize a multi-year deal for the 23-year-old. Jefferson, who broke NFL records for catches and receiving yards in his first three seasons, could eventually sign a deal that eclipses the $30 million-per-season contract Tyreek Hill got from the Dolphins and become the highest-paid receiver in the NFL.
He set team records with 128 catches and 1,809 yards a year ago, winning Offensive Player of the Year honors while being named among the NFL's MVP finalists. Jefferson was a unanimous selection to the AP All-Pro team, after being named a second team All-Pro as a rookie.
