Five Numbers that Explain the Justin Jefferson Extension Zone ...

After months of media speculation and fan consternation, the Minnesota Vikings have reached an agreement with superstar WR Justin Jefferson on a four-year, $140 million extension with $88.7 million fully guaranteed.

Mike Florio from ProFootballTalk had the full details first. Here are the five key numbers you need to know about this deal.

At $35 million per year, Justin Jefferson is now the highest-paid non-QB in the NFL, eclipsing Nick Bosa‘s $34 million per year contract signed last September.

At $35 million per year, Jefferson’s new AAV is $13.7% of the $255.4 million NFL salary cap. That’s the second-highest percentage a receiver has gotten recently, trailing Tyreek Hill‘s 14.4% when he signed a four-year, $120 million extension with the Miami Dolphins in 2022. However, Hill’s deal has an essentially fake final year with a salary of $43.9 million in 2026, a number that Miami is unlikely to pay out. Jefferson’s deal lacks those shenanigans.

Based on Jefferson’s contract structure, he’s tied to the Vikings until at least 2028, the final year of his deal. Jefferson has two rolling guarantees. One guarantees $7 million for the 2026 season in March of 2025, and one guarantees $15 million for the 2027 season in March 2026. That means Minnesota would incur an untenable $47,792,200 dead cap hit if it tried to move on from Jefferson before the 2027 season. It feels impossible to imagine a scenario where the Vikings would want to move on anyway, but this would be difficult for them to get out of if they did.

Because it would be difficult for the Vikings to move on from him before 2028, Jefferson is almost sure to receive $106 million in new money on this extension. His contract pays him $125.75 million through the 2027 season, which includes the $19.75 million he was scheduled to receive in 2024 on the fifth-year option. Removing that means the Vikings have committed $106 million in new money to Jefferson, a stunning amount.

By extending this contract, the Vikings actually saved $11,230,400 against the cap in 2024 compared to Jefferson playing on his fifth-year option. This has increased Minnesota’s total cap space to $27,700,857 per Over the Cap, which puts them in the top 10 of the NFL in available cap space.

The Vikings and their fans get to rejoice because they’ve locked up the best receiver in the NFL to a long-term deal, and Justin Jefferson and his camp should rejoice because they negotiated a strong, market-setting contract. This very much feels like a win-win for both sides. Now we can go into minicamp this week without Jefferson’s contract situation looming over everyone’s heads.