10 Highest-Paid Wide Receivers in the NFL

When it comes to paying high-profile and productive

NFL

wide receivers, the increasingly popular sentiment is to pay them and figure out the rest later. This approach can sometimes be viewed as shortsighted, but the league’s rising salary cap and the seemingly annual occurrence of record-breaking deals promote immediacy and assertiveness.

During this offseason alone, there have been several lucrative contracts handed to wide receivers, the latest being

Brandon Aiyuk

‘s $120 million deal with the

San Francisco 49ers

.

Here are the 10 highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL, based on the average annual value (AAV) of each player’s most recent contract.

1

Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings: $35 million AAV

Jefferson is now the highest-paid receiver in league history

It was only a matter of time before

Justin Jefferson

inked a record-breaking extension with the

Minnesota Vikings

. No one doubted the two sides would eventually strike a deal; it was a matter of the exact details that were in question.

As it turns out, Jefferson’s four-year, $140 million deal puts him at $35 million annually for the duration of his contract. This extension won’t officially go into effect until the 2025 season, as the Vikings picked up the fifth-year option on the three-time Pro Bowler’s rookie deal, but we’ll go ahead and crown him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL anyway.

2

CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys: $34 million AAV

The Cowboys ended Lamb’s holdout with a four-year, $136 million extension

At odds for months,

CeeDee Lamb

and the

Dallas Cowboys

finally agreed to terms on a four-year, $136 million extension on August 26, thus ending the three-time Pro Bowler’s lengthy holdout.

Coming off a career season in which he set multiple franchise records with 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns, adding 113 yards and another two scores on the ground, Lamb is now the second-highest-paid wideout in the league, trailing only Jefferson.

The contract includes a $38 million signing bonus, the highest signing bonus of any wide receiver in league history, $100 million in guaranteed money, and will keep Lamb with America’s Team through the 2028 season.

3

A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles: $32 million AAV

Brown inked a big extension this offseason

Philadelphia Eagles

wideout

A.J. Brown

sits in third on the list due to the three-year, $96 million extension he signed in April 2024, putting him at an average of $32 million annually.

Brown’s explosive skill set, which helped him record a career-high 106 catches for 1,456 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023, has made him an indispensable part of the Eagles offense, which is why Philadelphia was willing to break the bank for him.

Brown’s latest deal runs through 2029, ensuring he stays with the Eagles for the foreseeable future.

4

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions: $30.0025 million AAV

St. Brown was momentarily the highest-paid receiver ever this offseason

The Vikings and Eagles weren’t the only teams to keep their franchise receivers in town this offseason, as the

Detroit Lions

dished out a four-year extension worth just over $120 million to First-Team All-Pro wideout

Amon-Ra St. Brown

.

St. Brown’s reign as the league’s highest-paid receiver was short-lived, as Brown’s extension was signed the following day. Still, the two-time Pro Bowler, who racked up 119 catches for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns this past year, is in good company and is young enough to score another big contract when his new deal expires in 2029.

5

Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins: $30 million AAV

Hill was the league’s highest-paid receiver until this spring

The first receiver in NFL history to hit the $30 million per year threshold,

Tyreek Hill

paved the way for the massive contracts we’ve seen when the

Miami Dolphins

signed him to a then-record-breaking four-year, $120 million deal after acquiring him from the

Kansas City Chiefs

during the 2022 offseason.

Some believed Hill would get a raise once Jefferson and the others mentioned above somewhat reset the market, but that turned out not to be the case when he signed his newest contract on August 3, at least not in regards to his AAV.

Hill and the Dolphins agreed to a restructured extension that will pay him $90 million over the next three seasons with $65 million in guaranteed money. No extra years were added, which means he’s still set to stay in Miami through the 2027 season, but given the guarantees he already had, he’ll now make $106.5 million in guaranteed money over the four-year total of this contract, the most by any receiver ever.

6

Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers, $30 million AAV

Aiyuk and the 49ers finally agreed to a lucrative extension

The seemingly neverending saga between Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers finally came to an end on August 29 when the two sides agreed to terms on a four-year, $120 million extension that will keep the 2023 Second-Team All-Pro in the Bay Area through the 2028 season.

Despite never having made a Pro Bowl in his first four years in the league, the 2020 first-round pick believed he should be among the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL following a 2023 campaign that saw him catch 75 passes for a career-high 1,342 yards with seven touchdowns.

And after a lengthy holdout that included endless hours of trade talk, which almost saw him wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform, Aiyuk finally got his wish. He’s now tied with Hill as the fifth-highest-paid wideout in the league and the AAV of this contract is now $15 million higher than

George Kittle

‘s, $11 million higher than

Christian McCaffrey

‘s, and $6.15 million higher than

Deebo Samuel Sr.

‘s.

Aiyuk’s extension includes $76 million in guaranteed money.

7

Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins: $28.25 million AAV

Waddle and Hill make up the most expensive receiver duo in the NFL

As if investing in one speedster wasn’t enough, the Dolphins have continued to spend big at the wide receiver position. This offseason, it was 2021 first-round pick

Jaylen Waddle

securing a three-year, $84.75 million contract.

This deal must be viewed as a project, as Waddle has yet to make a Pro Bowl and has played second-fiddle to Hill the last two seasons. However, when his health permits, Waddle is an elite field stretcher and will be called upon more in the coming seasons, given Hill’s age.

Of the nearly $85 million Waddle is set to make, $76 million is guaranteed, which clearly signals Miami sees him as Hill’s replacement as WR1 in the coming years.

8

Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders: $28 million AAV

Adams received a hefty extension upon his arrival in Las Vegas

Shortly after acquiring

Davante Adams

via trade from the

Green Bay Packers

in the 2022 offseason, the

Las Vegas Raiders

signed him to a five-year, $140 million contract.

This deal was seemingly always short-term oriented, since Adams was pushing 30, and the bulk of his contract wouldn’t be paid out until his later seasons. Adams’ cap hit for the 2024 season is a modest $25.3 million before ballooning to $44.1 million in both 2025 and 2026.

9

D.J. Moore, Chicago Bears: $27.5 million AAV

Moore is coming off the best season of his career

Coming off the best campaign of his six-year career in 2023,

D.J. Moore

made his way into the top 10 by signing a four-year, $110 million extension with the

Chicago Bears

on July 30.

Moore, who was part of the massive haul the Bears received from the Carolina Panthers via trade ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, was fantastic in his first season in Chicago, setting career-highs in receptions (96), receiving yards (1,364), receiving yards per game (80.2), and receiving touchdowns (eight).

It’ll be interesting to see if Moore can maintain those numbers now that he’s part of a receiving corps that also features

Keenan Allen

and

Rome Odunze

, but if he can develop the same chemistry with rookie QB

Caleb Williams

that he had with

Justin Fields

, he’ll be in good shape.

Moore’s contract includes $82.6 million in guarantees and will keep him in the Windy City through the 2029 season.

10

Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams: $26.7 million AAV

Kupp has one of the more balanced contracts on this list

With

Cooper Kupp

fresh off a historic 2021 campaign in which he won the wideout Triple Crown, the

Los Angeles Rams

had no choice but to pay up for the then-reigning Super Bowl MVP and Offensive Player of the Year.

Kupp signed a three-year deal worth $80.1 million in the 2022 offseason, which averages out to a little below $27 million a year. Kupp’s cap hit stays relatively stable for the next few years, with $29.78 million figures in 2024 and 2025 and a $27.33 million hit for the 2026 season.

The Rams will certainly need the cap space if

Puka Nacua

continues to play the way he did as a rookie.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference and all contract information courtesy of Spotrac unless stated otherwise.