Payday For J.J.

The long-awaited payday for the NFL’s top wide receiver has arrived. 

Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings have agreed to a four-year, $140 million extension. 

🚨 🚨 🚨

The #Vikings and All-Pro WR Justin Jefferson have a new deal to reset the WR market and make him the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB, sources tell me & @TomPelissero.

It’s a mammoth, 4-year extension worth $140M — $35M per year — with $110M guaranteed. 💰 💰 💰 😱 pic.twitter.com/g8Tk8DbLmj

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 3, 2024

GETTY IMAGES: Justin Jefferson becomes the highest paid wide receiver in NFL history.

The 2022 Offensive Player of the Year cashes in as the highest paid non-QB in NFL history and surpasses the Eagles’ A.J. Brown, who signed an extension of his own over a month ago, in terms of per-year value and total guarantees.

From his rookie season in 2020, Jefferson established himself as an elite wideout, recording at least 1,000 yards and five touchdowns in each of his first four seasons. 

His best year so far came from his award-winning ‘22 season where he led the league with a monstrous 1,809 yards on 128 catches and added eight touchdowns to be the undisputed best wide receiver in the league. He was on pace to match similar numbers in 2023, but suffered a hamstring injury that limited him to just 10 games.

Jefferson becomes the latest in the group of star wide receivers that joined the league in the 2020 and 2021 drafts to receive their big extension. In the past week, Jaylen Waddle of the Dolphins signed a new three-year, $84.75 million deal.

The Vikings can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their franchise player is paid and happy. With quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the first year of his rookie contract, the team has an opportunity to spend big in their quest to return to the playoffs and ultimately build a title-contending team. 

Waller Retirement?

Entering 2024, the New York Giants will not be counting on their big acquisition from just one season ago. 

Per ESPN, the team is expecting tight end Darren Waller to retire. 

The Giants traded for the 31-year-old in March of 2023 with the expectation to be a dependable target for quarterback Daniel Jones and return to production levels of his last healthy season in 2020 where he recorded 107 receptions for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. 

But Waller tallied 552 yards and one touchdown while being limited to 12 games in his first season in New York. 

Over the course of the offseason, the Giants have revamped their tight end room, taking Theo Johnson in the fourth round of the NFL Draft and signing former Eagle Jack Stoll to a one-year deal. 

The team will also look for more out of their wide receivers with the selection of Malik Nabers as the sixth overall pick in the draft.

McManus Cut

On Sunday, the Commanders cut kicker Brandon McManus amid allegations that McManus sexually assaulted two women on a charter flight to London last year while he played for the Jaguars.

A civil lawsuit was filed last month against the Temple product, according to an Associated Press report.

The release of McManus, 33, left the Commanders without a kicker on their roster.

In a statement, McManus’ agent, Brett Gallaway, said the allegations are false and that evidence will prove his innocence, per the Washington Post:

Statement from Brandon McManus’s attorney, Brett Gallaway: pic.twitter.com/sYwfDFGD6w

— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) June 3, 2024