Justin Jefferson has signed a massive new four-year, $140 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings, making him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history.
He also becomes the highest-paid non-quarterback player in league history, and $110 million of his new deal is guaranteed over the next four seasons.
Jefferson, 24, was heading into the final year of his rookie contract after turning down the offer of a new contract last year that would have allowed him to earn $28 million per season. His new contract guarantees him an average of 35 million dollars per season.
The receiver skipped the start of the Vikings’ return to practice last month as his standoff with the team continued, but he will now return as a much higher-paid player than when he left at the end of last season.
The three-time Pro Bowler had several teams inquire about a trade this offseason, according to ESPN sources, but the Vikings told all suitors that they had no intention of letting their star player leave the building.
Vikings star Justin Jefferson has signed a new four-year, $140 million contract.
Jefferson, pictured at the Western Conference NBA Finals, has made history with his new contract.
Jefferson made headlines earlier this year when DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that he was facing a paternity lawsuit in New Jersey after being accused of pressuring the child’s mother to have an abortion.
The Vikings star and his ex-girlfriend, Andrea Galea, filed a countersuit in January in Essex County (New Jersey) Family Court. Those filings have since been obtained by DailyMail.com.
Galea graduated from the University of Miami School of Law and previously attended Louisiana State University with Jefferson. The two became romantically involved in 2019 before separating and reconnecting in April 2023, according to their paternity lawsuit filed on January 19.
It was in April that Galea claims Jefferson fathered her daughter, Stella, who was born in late December.
In addition to a paternity test, Galea has pushed for financial support and health care coverage from Jefferson, while accusing the former first-round pick of pressuring her to abort the child during her pregnancy.
In his own Jan. 26 complaint, Jefferson also pushed for a paternity test and at the same time demanded an injunction against Galea to prevent him from sharing information about the child.