Why Vikings' Justin Jefferson contract extension makes sense - ESPN

EAGAN, Minn. — The weirdest thing that happened on the way to Justin Jefferson's four-year, $140 million contract extension ($110 million guaranteed) with the Minnesota Vikings. that he agreed to Monday: Because it took more than a year to negotiate and was complicated, there emerged an absurd level of public discussion on the wisdom of signing him at all.

Jefferson isn't a quarterback but wants quarterback money, as one popular refrain went.

There was much more.

He took two months to return from a hamstring injury last season, during which the Vikings recorded a much better record without him (5-2) than with him (2-8).

The draft seems to provide a handful of elite-level receivers every year.

There's no reason to pay a premium salary to a wide receiver when there isn't a proven quarterback on the roster.

He has made some iconic catches, and racked up yardage at a historic level, but so did people like Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins before their careers stalled out.

So let's be clear, once and for all, about what happened here.

The Vikings locked up the prime years of a player who has produced the best opening of a career of anyone at his position in the history of pro football. His average of 6.5 catches per game is the second highest of any receiver in his first four seasons, and his average of 98.3 yards per game is the highest in NFL history — for any career span. That puts Jefferson on a Hall of Fame track, and no definition of responsible team building can justify parting ways with a player who has put himself on a track to be one of the all-time greats.

Of course, there is a level of projection in that statement. But remember: Jefferson is still only 25 years old. There is a pretty low probability that his