Big Money, No Whammy! - JJ Extension Watch

The Vikings’ playbook literally underscores the organization’s top-down commitment to Jefferson. Many of their formations and terms feature words related to Jefferson, be it his home state (Louisiana) or his favorite dance move (Griddy). Coach Kevin O’Connell has long viewed Jefferson as a partner in many ways, one of the few men on Earth who is talented and intelligent enough to transfer his brainstormed offensive ideas onto the field.

Watching a player like that leave the building, especially during a period of organizational change, would have been a nightmare. The Vikings were committed to keeping their most important player from the outset. They thought they were in such lockstep with Jefferson’s plans that he would be present this week at mandatory minicamp.

All along, their beliefs were well founded. The proof lies in the $140 million.

Jefferson embraced O’Connell upon the coach’s arrival. The receiver supported Kirk Cousins publicly. When the extension conversation surfaced, he said simply, “It comes with the game.”

Privately, he and McCardell strategized how to approach the contract negotiations. McCardell held out for a contract in Tampa Bay and was traded to San Diego. The approach worked out for him, but it also shaped his perspective.

“Just be professional about it,” McCardell told Jefferson. “You don’t need to get involved. Let your agent handle it. Everybody knows you deserve it. You know you deserve it. It’s going to happen. You want to be the face of the Vikings, and you will, so let it play out.”

The Vikings began negotiations last summer. The two sides talked for several months but could not settle on the contract length or guaranteed money. They tabled the discussions and agreed to keep it out of the media, a testament to the trust each side had for the other.

Negotiations resumed recently and culminated in the biggest non-quarterback contract in NFL history. Finalizing the deal cemented Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell’s plan to create a younger roster with more long-term flexibility.

It made McCardell ecstatic. He thought about how Jefferson’s presence at mandatory minicamp would heighten the intensity. He began planning how he’d continue to push him to become more of an active leader.

For Jefferson, it validates the work he put into reaching his goal. He was not highly recruited and not as highly drafted as expected after a prolific LSU career but he instantly proved that he was the best receiver in the 2020 draft by gaining 1,400 yards in his first season. Two years ago during minicamp he told the media that he wanted to be considered the best wide receiver in the NFL by the end of the 2022 season. Everyone in attendance was perplexed because he had already posted 1,616 yards the previous season. But he wanted there to be no debate. In 2022 he won Offensive Player of the Year and was an MVP finalist. The contract further locks in his spot at the top of the receiver mountain.

“I always preached, the money never was a big thing for me, it was mostly about solidifying myself as the top receiver in the league,” Jefferson said. “Of course, I want to be holding that gold jacket when my career is all over with.”

Jefferson views the extension as proof of commitment and belief in him as the centerpiece of the franchise. Anyone can say “I love you” but not everybody is willing to get down on one knee and present a ring. When the ring comes in the form of a contract that keeps him in purple through a 2028 at the highest amount of guaranteed money ever at the position, it means there is nobody else the team would rather have. In Jefferson’s mind that commitment means he can take on a true leadership position.

“This is something that I've been waiting for and now being the leader of this team and carrying myself a different way,” Jefferson said. “I'm gonna be on everyone, but I'm gonna be on everyone hard and I'm gonna make sure that I'm the leader of this team, and we're working to where we want to go, which is a world championship.”

While Jefferson’s role as a leader began last year when he was named a captain — notably after taking every practice rep during training camp as he negotiated with the team — the offense still very much belonged to veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins. This is Jefferson’s show now.

“Having Kirk was a little bit easier with him being a veteran and me pretty much coming into the league with him as my quarterback, things were a lot easier,” Jefferson said. “But of course, things are not always going to be that type of way. There are things are going to change.”

One of those things that’s going to change is Jefferson taking responsibility for the success of rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy. He talked to McCarthy shortly after he got drafted and urged his young quarterback to have confidence in himself.

“I'm gonna be that main person in his ear and trying to teach him and trying to prepare him for what we're about to go through, I told him that this league is tough,” Jefferson said. “It's not an easy job to come out here and perform at the highest ability, especially as a rookie, but I will be that main person that he can lean on and help throughout the way.”

The extension ensures that Jefferson and McCarthy will go through the QB’s development process together. Signing the deal before seeing McCarthy play pretty clearly indicates that any suggestion he wouldn’t sign without Cousins under center was bogus. Jefferson has too much belief in his own ability to elevate everyone around him for that to be a factor.

“All the quarterback changes that happened, that really didn't really affect me that much,” Jefferson said. “I'm always confident in myself and confident in who's throwing the ball to give me those type of opportunities and let me just go make a play for the team.”

For Kevin O’Connell, extending Jefferson means that he has a minicamp and training camp without distractions.

“I think it just provides clarity for everyone,” O’Connell said. “Justin, joining the team this week, it gives him some great days to really gain some momentum…He's dialed in, picked up right where he left off, and now he can feel that much smoother about how he'll prepare and then enter training camp come the fall.”

O’Connell also has a partner in Jefferson going forward. Over the last two years the head coach and receiver have built trust and the head coach views Jefferson as an extension of his message in the locker room.

“The bond that we have has meant the absolute world to me from day one,” O’Connell said. “He means the world to that locker room. Even today, seeing him back around his teammates, yesterday, back around his teammates, he's a people changer, he's a culture changer, and he's everything we want this organization to be about.”