Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown Extension Sets a Bar Justin Jefferson Will Clear

St. Brown is the highest-paid wide receiver in football...for the time being.

Dec 24, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) / Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

For the time being, the Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown is the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. St. Brown signed a four-year, $120 million extension with Detroit on Wednesday, which matches the deal the Dolphins gave Tyreek Hill two years ago. Whereas Hill got $72.2 million guaranteed, St. Brown received $77 million guaranteed in his new deal, which will keep him with the Lions through the 2028 season.

It goes without saying that the $30 million AAV bar is going to be cleared — and not just by a smidge — when Justin Jefferson eventually signs his extension.

St. Brown, 24, emerged last season as one of the best receivers in the league, earning first team All-Pro honors after posting a 119-1,515-10 line in the regular season. He then added another 274 yards in three playoff games for a Lions team that came just shy of reaching the Super Bowl. Across his first three regular seasons, St. Brown has a career 315-3,588-21 line. That's the eighth-most receiving yards through a player's first three seasons in NFL history.

Jefferson, who turns 25 this summer, is on a completely different level. Three seasons into his career, he had a 324-4,825-25 line, breaking Randy Moss' record for receiving yards in years 1-3 by nearly 700 yards. At that point, Jefferson was already a three-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro, and offensive player of the year winner. Last year, he had over 1,000 yards in just eight full games while missing a big chunk of time due to injury.

It still feels likely that Jefferson's next contract will clear Nick Bosa's $34 million AAV and make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history. It also feels likely that it'll include at least $100 million in guarantees.

There's been buzz that the Vikings will shift their focus to getting the Jefferson extension done once this draft is in the rearview mirror.

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