The Highest-Paid Wide Receivers in NFL After Jaylen Waddle's Dolphins Extension

Breaking down the highest-paid wideouts after Waddle's new deal with Miami.

Jaylen Waddle celebrates a touchdown against the New England Patriots / JIM RASSOL/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA

On May 30, the Miami Dolphins inked standout wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to a hefty three-year, $84.75 million contract extension with $76 million guaranteed. The deal makes Waddle one of the highest-paid wideouts in the entire NFL, quite an honor considering how many good and well-paid receivers there are in the league nowadays.

Specifically, Waddle is now one of the five highest-paid wide receivers based on average annual value, or AAV. This has become the most used metric in ranking NFL contracts because salary guarantees fluctuate so drastically from contract to contract. It's also quite simple—to find the AAV of any deal, take the total value and divide it by the length of the contract.

In Waddle's case, his three-year contract comes out to an average of $28.25 million per season. That ranks below Philadelphia Eagles' A.J. Brown ($32 million) Detroit Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown ($30 million) and fellow Dolphin Tyreek Hill ($30 million) but higher than contemporaries like Las Vegas Raiders' Davante Adams ($28 million) or Los Angeles Rams' Cooper Kupp ($26.7 million).

Speaking even more broadly, how does Waddle's new deal stack up across the league? Here's where he ranks among the NFL's 30 highest-paid receivers, ranked by AAV with total value and the total amount of money that is guaranteed, which is another useful metric in measuring how much the contract really means to both player and team.

NFL Highest Paid Wide Receivers

PLAYER/TEAM	AVERAGE ANNUAL VALUE	TOTAL VALUE	TOTAL GUARANTEED
A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles	$32 million	$96 million	$84 million
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions	$30 million	$120 million	$77 million
Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins	$30 million	$120 million	$72.2 million
Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins	$28.25 million	$84.75 million	$76 million
Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders	$28 million	$140 million	$65.7 million
Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams	$26.7 million	$80.1 million	$75 million
DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles	$25 million	$75 million	$70 million
Nico Collins, Houston Texans	$24.3 million	$72.3 million	$32.1 million
D.K. Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks	$24 million	$72 million	$58.2 million
Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers	$23.9 million	$71.6 million	$58.2 million
Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts	$23.3 million	$70 million	$46 million
Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders	$23.2 million	$69.6 million	$53.2 million
Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans	$23 million	$92 million	$50 million
Stefon Diggs, Houston Texans	$22.5 million	$22.5 million	$22 million
Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals (pending signing of franchise tag)	$21.8 million	$21.8 million	$0
D.J. Moore, Chicago Bears	$20.6 million	$61.9 million	$41.6 million
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	$20.5 million	$41 million	$29 million
Keenan Allen, Chicago Bears	$20 million	$80.1 million	$50 million
Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns	$20 million	$100 million	$60 million
Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	$20 million	$60 million	$40 million
Diontae Johnson, Carolina Panthers	$18.4 million	$36.7 million	$27 million
Christian Kirk, Jacksonville Jaguars	$18 million	$72 million	$37 million
Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns	$17.5 million	$52.5 million	$41 million
Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks	$15 million	$30 million	$12.6 million
Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos	$15 million	$60 million	$34.9 million
DeAndre Hopkins, Tennessee Titans	$13 million	$26 million	$11 million
Gabe Davis, Jacksonville Jaguars	$13 million	$39 million	$24 million
Darnell Mooney, Atlanta Falcons	$13 million	$39 million	$26 million
Allen Lazard, New York Jets	$11 million	$44 million	$22 million
Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders	$11 million	$33 million	$21 million

There are undoubtedly more names who will be added to this list as soon as this offseason. Minnesota Vikings' Justin Jefferson, Dallas Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb, San Francisco 49ers' Brandon Aiyuk, and Cincinnati Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase are all eligible for extensions this summer. Most, if not all, should receive lucrative offers that will ultimately rank above even Waddle's new deal.

It's a good time to play receiver in the National Football League, that's for sure.