Mandatory minicamp began Tuesday at TCO Performance Center in Eagan and the Minnesota Vikings had superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson in attendance.
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Jefferson’s arrival marks the first time this offseason that he’s participated in team activities, having missed all of the voluntary organized team activities in May and early June.
Why he missed OTAs remains a mystery, though one thought is that it’s because he’s waiting to receive a new contract that secures his long-term future with the team that drafted him in 2020.
What’s unclear is if his participation in minicamp is a signal that a new contract is about to be announced.
It’s been two weeks since longtime Minnesota sportscaster Mark Rosen said “keep your eye on what’s going on with Justin Jefferson the next 48 hours.” Since then, not a peep. Rosen’s words followed an optimistic comment from Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell about Jefferson being with the team for mandatory minicamp, which has now been proved accurate.
“For me, I hope to see him as soon as possible,” O’Connell said May 30. “Would love to have him, obviously. But I think as we work towards minicamp we’ll have a real, clean cut plan of what that looks like, and hopefully get him some work, and I know a lot of the guys will be excited to see him.”
The 24-year-old is due to earn about $2.4 million in cash in 2023. The Vikings have picked up Jefferson’s fifth-year option that will pay him around $19.7 million in 2024, according to OverTheCap, but even that number wouldn’t put him near market value considering he’s arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL.
The belief around the league is that Jefferson could become the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL, which would mean an average annual salary of at least $31 million for any new contract he signs.
