While teams like the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, and Minnesota Vikings are happy they have their top receivers locked up to new long-term deals, one NFL executive openly suggested those were bad decisions.
Offense in the NFL has made a major shift in this century. For decades, the run game was the straw that stirred the offensive drink for most teams around the league. It helped move the first down sticks and set up potential plays for the passing game.
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However, things have completely flipped and now if you can’t pass at a high level you are not going far in this league. It is why contracts for quarterbacks have exploded to never-before-seen levels. And likewise for the men that catch their passes, wide receivers.
Over the last couple of years, we have seen huge contracts handed out to wide receivers around the game. Before last season the Minnesota Vikings gave Justin Jefferson a deal worth $140 million. And this year the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers gave CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk pacts that will see them make $30 million or more per season in the years ahead.
NFL exec calls recent receiver contracts from Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings ‘out of whack’
Those teams believe these players will be at the heart of championship teams in the near future. However, on Tuesday ESPN published a report from Ben Baby on the views around the league on the recent contracts given to star receivers. And one NFC exec took those and other teams to task for the contracts they have handed out to pass catchers the last few years.
“It’s completely out of whack. I think the reason why teams [spend big] is because you draft and develop a player who becomes great, and he’s got chemistry with his quarterback,” the exec told ESPN. “But you can find a lot of good receivers every year in the draft.”
Over the previous five seasons, only two teams that had top-five salary cap charges invested in their wide receiver corps made a conference championship. The 2020 Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. There are now six receivers that will earn $30 or more million a year in their current contracts.
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