Getty New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson warming up in the middle of a practice session.
The New York Jets are going to have to open their checkbooks to keep Garrett Wilson in the green and white.
Moe Moton of Bleacher Report gave us an idea of what that could look like by projecting Wilson’s next contract. He projected new deals for eight players in the NFL who could “reset major position markets in 2025.”
For Wilson, he projected that he’d ink a four-year deal for $144 million with $115 million in total guarantees.
That new salary, $36 million per year, would make Wilson the highest-paid wide receiver in football, per Over The Cap. The former Ohio State product isn’t contract extension eligible until the 2025 offseason.
Wilson’s Projected Contract Would Shatter Both NFL and Team Records
Jets superstar defensive tackle Quinnen Williams currently holds the team record for the largest contract ($96 million), highest annual salary ($24 million), and total guarantees ($66 million).
However, Wilson’s new projected deal would shatter those records and break new ground for the league.
The wide receiver position has exploded in recent years with a new high point being Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings resetting the market with a four-year contract for $140 million.
Jefferson now makes $3 million more than the next highest-paid wide receiver on the list (AJ Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles). More impressive than that is Jefferson becoming the highest-paid non-QB in the league surpassing Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers.
“He [Wilson] doesn’t have the same star power as Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase right now, but Rodgers can help him change that this year,” Moton explained.
Through his first two seasons, Wilson played with terrible quarterbacks which limited the production he could put up.
However this year he should have a fully healthy Aaron Rodgers which Moton called a “massive upgrade”, the understatement of the century.
Speaking of breaking records, if Wilson has the season Moton thinks he’s capable of “1,500-1,600 yards” then the money is going to be waiting for him at the end of the rainbow.
The current single-season record holder in Jets franchise history is Brandon Marshall who notched 1,502 receiving yards back in 2015.
Wilson Is Worth the Massive Investment
I asked Connor Rogers of “Badlands” on “Boy Green Daily” if he could sign one Jets player to a lifetime contract, who would it be and why?
“I would go with Garrett Wilson and that might surprise some people but this franchise Paul has been lacking the identity of that No. 1 wide receiver for such a long time,” Rogers told me.
On Friday, July 19 I called into the “Rich Eisen Show” and asked NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero about the Jets’ wide receiver position.
Pelissero told me that the team believes that Wilson, “can be like a hallmark, cornerstone type of a franchise player.”
While he admitted that Rodgers doesn’t necessarily have a Davante Adams-type player on the roster right now, that could soon change.
“Maybe Garrett Wilson is that next Davante Adams. And maybe after the first month of the season, we’re sitting there going why would they trade for Davante Adams to take targets away from Garrett Wilson moving forward,” Pelissero added.
.@TomPelissero of the @nflnetwork answered my question & revealed that the #Jets think Garrett Wilson ‘can be like a hallmark, cornerstone type of a franchise player.’
I asked him if NYJ will add another WR to the room, ‘I think there’s a lot of reason to be optimistic that…