ESPN Re-Confirms Vikings Financial Priority with Superstar
Dustin Baker
|
You don’t have to live in suspense about Justin Jefferson’s future with the Minnesota Vikings. It’s all a matter of when.
The Vikings front office hasn’t been bashful about the desire to extend Jefferson’s contract, but no agreement exists through four months of the offseason.
ESPN Re-Confirms Vikings Financial Priority with Superstar
Minnesota unearthed Jefferson from the 1st Round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and grandeur has ensued since. The LSU alumnus leads the NFL in receiving yards since turning pro and routinely makes Vikings fans chuckle at the Stefon Diggs trade that once caused anxiety.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler re-confirmed the Vikings commitment to a long-term Jefferson contract last weekend and said the team would “prioritize” the deal. The team itself has expressed all offseason that keeping Jefferson around for the next 4-5 years is preferred, so the Fowler tidbit is merely a reaffirmation.
“Because wide receiver — that market has gone up to $30 million with Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, all of those guys. Jefferson is considered by many around the league as the very best receiver in the NFL. So, are we talking, you know, Aaron Donald money, $31 million per year? We’ll see,” Fowler elaborated.
Jefferson is a football team’s sword and sorcery — young, charismatic, and the best on the planet at his craft. The man even gnawed at single-season receiving yards records in 2022, just his third year in the league. So, the Vikings are absolutely steadfast and committed to keeping Jefferson glued to the franchise indefinitely. They’ve never wavered when asked about Jefferson’s upcoming contract extension.
In April, head coach Kevin O’Connell chatted at length with The Athletic, and when asked about Jefferson’s looming extension, the message was consistent, “There’s no question. All of our organization is excited about having Justin Jefferson on our team for a really long time. Knowing what that’s going to mean from a numbers standpoint and all those things is one thing, and that will all work itself out.”
“It’s the goal of having him as the legitimate best receiver in football on our team for as long as we can possibly have him. I think that’s really important,” O’Connell declared with no mystery whatsoever to his words.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said in January, just two days after his club was prematurely bounced from the playoffs, that anything contract-related to Jefferson was champagne problems. “I wouldn’t use the word challenge. You got a special player, a special person. Those aren’t problems. Or at least those are champagne problems,” Adofo-Mensah replied when asked about the feasibility of a long-term deal.
He finished the response, “So, we’ll start there. We’ve had initial dialogue with him, his agent. All those things we get back to that in the planning, but again it really starts from the player, the person, and we’ll work on solutions from there on.”
Jefferson, too, confirmed his desire to stay with the Vikings for the long haul. “I will be wherever I’m wanted. If they want me here, I’m here,” Jefferson said after the Vikings playoff loss to New York.
The reigning Offensive Player of the Year ‘wants to be here,’ the team’s leaders are all about it, and ESPN says it’s a priority. Soon, you’ll get the formal notification.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.