Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson has been making headlines in NFL trade rumors leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft. Mock drafts have suggested that the Vikings could trade Jefferson to acquire their preferred quarterback, but NFL teams understand that the actual cost of landing Jefferson would be significantly higher.
Earlier this offseason, former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman suggested that Minnesota could trade Jefferson along with the 11th and 23rd overall picks to move up to the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Additionally, ESPN NFL analyst Bill Barnwell proposed a deal in an all-trades NFL mock draft that would send Jefferson and the 23rd overall pick to the New England Patriots for the third overall selection.
A primary factor in both proposed trades is Jefferson’s contract situation. Entering the final year of his rookie deal, the All-Pro wideout is poised to become a free agent in 2025 and will likely command a record-breaking contract, costing the Vikings upwards of $34 million per season.
However, NFL teams are aware that even if Jefferson were available, the cost of acquiring him is much higher than the proposed scenarios, making a trade even more improbable. On the latest Yahoo Sports’ “Inside Coverage” podcast, senior NFL reporter Charles Robinson shared a conversation he had with a team official regarding the potential trade market and acquisition cost of Jefferson.
“One thing he said to me is, ‘I’ve never seen in league history, a situation where you could meet the demand that they’re going to have for Justin Jefferson, which is going to be multiple first rounders.’ It’s not going to be a Tyreek Hill situation, some of these other trades that have gone on. We’re talking about starting baseline, two 1s, plus some additional compensation on top of that and then you turn around and you give him the richest non-quarterback contract in the history of the NFL.”
As Robinson and fellow senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein discussed on the “Inside Coverage” podcast, only a handful of teams could afford to acquire Jefferson and then sign him to a long-term deal. Clubs recognize that his next contract will reset the market for all non-quarterbacks, and combined with the draft capital required to acquire him, the chances of a trade are minimal.
“He was like, ‘First off, there’s not even a lot of organizations that could do that from a draft capital standpoint and also the financial capital standpoint, when you look at where salary caps are projecting out…Look at the depth, as well at the wide receiver class.’..It’s so rich to deal for a player of Jefferson’s talent at this point, but also price point and asset trade-off. It’s going to make it very, very difficult for a move like that to happen.”
Very few teams can afford to pay Jefferson $34 million annually, especially contenders with high-priced quarterbacks and defensive players on their rosters. Instead, the teams that could make a move for Jefferson are those with a starting quarterback on a rookie-scale contract, which is precisely the situation the Vikings are set to be in moving forward.
The Vikings’ front office has made it clear this offseason that they have no interest in trading Jefferson or entertaining negotiations with other clubs for him. Even if the Vikings were open to the possibility, any trade would require multiple first-round picks. For these reasons, Jefferson will likely be extended by the Vikings and become the highest-paid player on their offense while they benefit from a rookie-scale quarterback contract.
