Report: Former Alabama Standout Jaylen Waddle Earns Lucrative Three-Year Extension

The deal makes Waddle one of the league’s top five highest-paid receivers.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (17) flips the ball in the air as he scores a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the second half of an NFL game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Oct. 29, 2023. / JIM RASSOL/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA

Former Alabama and current Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle earned a lucrative three-year extension on Thursday, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

"This just in: Miami and WR Jaylen Waddle reached agreement today on a three-year, $84.75 million contract extension that includes $76 million guaranteed, per sources," Schefter posted on X. "The deal makes Waddle one of the league’s top five highest-paid receivers. WME Football negotiated and confirmed the deal."

The current top five highest-paid receivers per year:

1. AJ Brown: $32M
2. Amon-Ra St. Brown: $30.02M
3. Tyreek Hill: $30M
4. Jaylen Waddle: $28.25M
5. Davante Adams: $28M

As you can see above Waddle joins fellow Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill in this elite group. Waddle and the eight-time Pro Bowler (five-time First Team All-Pro) are widely regarded as the best receiving duo in the league ever since Hill was traded to Miami on March 24, 2022.

Waddle has tallied over 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons and has become one of the more prominent pass-catchers in the league. The 25-year-old's best season thus far came in 2022, as he logged 1,356 receiving yards for eight touchdowns on a league-high 18.1 yards per reception.

A big portion of Hill and Waddle's success in Miami is in due part to quarterback and former Alabama standout Tua Tagovailoa.

Tagovailoa, the fifth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, and the Dolphins have been working towards an extension for quite some time, and the differences between both parties caused the quarterback to hold out throughout a decent chunk of the offseason. However, he returned on May 20 for OTAs. Tagovailoa even rejected an extension offer by Miami very recently, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

This offseason has been friendly to other franchise quarterbacks in need of a new contract as most recently, Detroit Lions' Jared Goff signed a 4-year, $212 million extension on May 13.

Part of the reason why negotiations with the 26-year-old has taken so long is because he likely wants a similar deal to Goff, among others. This is certainly an understandable request, as he threw an NFL-best 4,624 yards this past season, while also tallying 29 passing touchdowns en route to his first Pro Bowl appearance. He has notably improved every season since his rookie campaign.

Waddle, the sixth overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, and Tagovailoa played together at Alabama during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The star receiver revealed recently that Tagovailoa indirectly convinced him to commit to the Crimson Tide when he was a recruit.