Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson wasted little time announcing himself as a star during his rookie season in 2020, and since then he has asserted himself as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.
Jefferson has the most receiving yards in NFL history before his 26th birthday (7,432), which he just recently celebrated on June 16. His career average of 96.5 receiving yards per game is the best in league history right now, and he has proven himself to be absolutely quarterback-proof as the Vikings transition to J.J. McCarthy under center this year.
Any overall ranking of the NFL’s best players will have Jefferson in a lofty spot, and he came in at No. 5 in a ranking of the top-100 players in the league from Pete Prisco of CBS Sports. Jefferson is the top wide receiver in the ranking, with Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals next up at No. 8.
Justin Jefferson’s value further proven by place on unique extension of 2025 top-100 list
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports has created an “All-Bargain” team from Prisco’s top-100 list. The entire group had to fit under an imaginary $139.6 million salary cap (half of the actual salary cap for 2025), and each player’s 2025 cap hit is what their cost is.
Jefferson has a cap hit of just $15.2 million this year. It’s the largest cap hit on the hypothetical team Benjamin put together, but the case for him as a bargain is obvious.
“Jefferson accounts for the largest 2025 cap hit on our All-Bargain Team’s payroll, but the truth is he’s a steal at any price. Five years in, he’s already well clear of 7,000 receiving yards for his career. And he just makes it all look so easy; there isn’t another wideout who makes splash plays more routine. The Vikings compensate him well, but the rest of the NFL would love to have him as a quarterback’s best friend.”
The Vikings offered a lesson to other teams with a high-end wide receiver when they wasted little time to pay Jefferson what he was worth with a four-year, $140 million contract ($35 million per year) last summer. Chase has since notably surpassed him as the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL based on annual average ($40.25 million), but Jefferson effectively raised the market value of another member of his draft class, CeeDee Lamb, as the Dallas Cowboys drug their feet to pay him.
If Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin gets the kind of contract he’s rumored to possibly be getting ($36-$37 million per year?), he would inexplicably overtake Jefferson as the second-highest paid wide receiver in the league. If McLaurin gets $30 million or more per year, Jefferson would be further fortified as a bargain.
Of course this is the last year Jefferson will look like a bargain for awhile, with a cap hit just shy of $39 million in 2026 followed by cap hits north of $40 million in 2027 and 2028. But for 2025, a cap hit that sits a shade below Lamb’s and just above Jakobi Meyers’ looks really nice.