When it comes to NFL contract extensions, the key for teams is to get ahead of the market.
The earlier you re-sign a player, the better the contract will look in due time.
The New York Jets are seeing that firsthand with star wide receiver Garrett Wilson, as evidenced by the latest eye-popping contract extension around the NFL.
According to a Thursday report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Green Bay Packers have re-signed Christian Watson to a four-year, $110.5 million contract extension. The $110.5 million total value ranks 11th among wide receivers, just five spots behind Wilson’s four-year, $130 million deal.
That makes Wilson’s deal seem like a bargain.
Both Watson and Wilson have played four NFL seasons after being chosen in the 2022 NFL draft. Wilson has racked up 3,644 receiving yards and 181 first downs in his career, compared to Watson’s 2,264 yards and 97 first downs.
In fairness to Watson, injuries have held him to 10 fewer games than Wilson. However, Watson’s peak has been nowhere close to Wilson’s. While Wilson owns career highs of 1,104 yards and 60 first downs, Watson’s highs are 620 yards and 28 first downs.
Watson has a 20-to-18 advantage in the touchdown column, but that can be chalked up to a better Green Bay team making more trips to the red zone than a putrid Jets team.
This past season, Watson played in only 10 games, but he set a career-high with 61.1 receiving yards per game by collecting 611 yards in those contests. Still, Wilson has already had three seasons in which he averaged more yards per game than Watson’s career-high. He has also had three seasons with at least 400 more total yards than Watson’s career-high of 620.
This is all despite Watson enjoying the above-average quarterbacking of Jordan Love over the past three seasons, compared to Wilson suffering through a carousel of bottom-tier passers. With even a competent quarterback, such as Geno Smith, the production gap between Wilson and Watson will likely grow even larger.
Wilson is also a year younger than Watson.
Yet, with all of these factors involved, Wilson is still making just under $5 million per year more than Watson. Surely, most NFL teams would agree that Wilson and Watson’s on-field value is separated by more than about $5 million.
With each wide receiver contract that gets signed, it becomes more obvious that New York hit a home run by quickly extending Wilson in July 2025.
