The Deebo Samuel, D.K. Metcalf Deals Ought to Encourage The Vikings
K. Joudry
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Last weekend, we offered a brief piece that relays an educated guess about the next Justin Jefferson contract. According to Spotrac, Minnesota’s elite WR will command $26 million per year over four years. Contracts, quite often, are contextual. An elite player often looks around at what other top players are getting paid, using the numbers as a guide for his own deal. For this reason, the Deebo Samuel and D.K. Metcalf deals are noteworthy.
Let’s begin with the basic contract info. Take a look:
| Metcalf, D.K. | 3-Year, $72 Million | $24M/Season |
| Samuel, Deebo | 3-Year, $71.5 Million | $23.85M/Season |
We need to remember that the per-season average often isn’t helpful information. Depending on how the guarantees work, players regularly fall short of the money that many assume will be heading in their direction.
Regardless, these two deals are helpful in our ongoing consideration of the next Justin Jefferson contract.
The aforementioned projection has Jefferson at a $26 million per-year average. It’s a ton of money, and yet it’s not unlikely to occur. Jefferson truly is one of the game’s best players and he’s still very young. Of all the receivers who have the capacity to justify such large numbers, Jefferson certainly finds himself toward the top.
Minnesota’s front office, though, must be encouraged to see the deals that Deebo and Metcalf agreed to sign. Neither hits the $25 million per year average. One could certainly argue that Jefferson is better than both – I believe he is – but it isn’t super clear cut. Don’t forget that Deebo finished as a first-team All Pro instead of Jefferson following this past season. Clearly, there are some people around the NFL who think SF has a better receiver than MN.
Another factor to consider is the length of the deals. Both Metcalf and Deebo are young, so there’s a good chance each will be playing at a high level once these contracts are done. Limiting things to three years will therefore allow each to have a shot at another sizeable contract before being too old. Perhaps Jefferson will try to ensure he gets a chance to do likewise.
The Vikings will find themselves in a tricky spot next offseason. Justin Jefferson deserves a new contract, one that pays him as the elite player that he is. The issue, of course, rests in the mere fact that resources are finite. How much is too much for an elite receiver? Thankfully, I’m not the one in charge of determining the appropriate amount. All I’ll say is that it’s a good problem to have. Drafting a player who has been so excellent that he clearly deserves top-level money indicates that the draft pick has been a massive success.
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