Ranking WRs Most Likely to Earn Big Contract in 2025 NFL Free Agency

To quote a legendary wide receiver, “Show me the money!”

While Rod Tidwell–Cuba Gooding Jr.’s character in the classic movie ‘Jerry Maguire’–might be a fictional football player, receivers across the NFL have been reciting that iconic line for decades figuratively and sometimes literally. The latest is Justin Jefferson who inked a record-breaking $140 million contract earlier this week.

However, Jefferson won’t be the last wideout to get a big payday as this year’s impending free agent class is loaded at the position as Ceedee Lamb, Stefon Diggs and Tee Higgins, among others, are set to become free agents next spring.

Here, we’ll rank the top five wide receivers most likely to earn a big contract in the offseason, diving into their current deals, production and age while simultaneously providing any known updates on the status of their negotiations. For clarity, each player must be entering the final year of their current deal to qualify.

Amari Cooper

While Cooper is often left out of top wide receiver discussions, he’s an excellent route-runner and has been productive throughout his career. He’s logged 1,000-yard campaigns in seven out of nine seasons and has had at least five touchdowns every year.

However, the 2015 No. 4 overall pick turns 30 in a couple of weeks and isn’t quite as good as the receivers who made the cut. So, while he might get a new contract next spring, it likely won’t be as lucrative as his younger and better counterparts.

Current contract (via Over The Cap): 5 years, $100 million

Keenan Allen

Like Cooper, Allen runs sharp routes and has been productive with over 900 catches, 10,500 yards and nearly 60 touchdowns during his career. However, also similar to Cooper, the former Charger and current Bear is getting up there in age after turning 32 last April. Additionally, he’s suffered a few injuries recently which will impact negotiations in the spring.

Current contract (via OTC): 4 years, $80.1 million

DeAndre Hopkins

Hopkins is another older wideout who has an impressive résumé with about 12,400 yards and 78 touchdowns in his career. However, he’s had a drop-off in production since putting up over 1,400 yards in 2020. Granted, part of that is due to a suspension two years ago, but the 32-year-old isn’t the same player he once was.

Current contract (via OTC): 2 years, $26 million

Diontae Johnson

While Johnson is the only player to miss the cut and be under 30 years old, he’s not exactly a spring chicken as he’ll turn 28 next month. Also, the former Steeler and current Panther only has one 1,000-yard season to his name and just isn’t of the same caliber as the top five wideouts. So, Johnson will get a raise in the spring, just not close to a record-setting one.

Current contract (via OTC): 2 years, $36.71 million

Brandin Cooks

Playing for five different teams in 10 seasons, Cooks has struggled to stick in one spot during his career. He’s been productive with over 9,000 career yards and 57 touchdowns, but he’s consistently floated in the good, not great category.

Barring a surprise, the 30-year-old will likely add another organization to his long list seeing as the Cowboys will presumptively prioritize Ceedee Lamb in free agency. If Cooks wants to finally have a permanent home, he will probably have to take a discount stay in Dallas.

Current contract (via OTC): 2 years, $20 million

Date of Birth: Nov. 29, 1993 (30.5)

Career Stats: 810 catches, 9,995 yards, 67 touchdowns (9 seasons)

Current Contract (via Over The Cap): 1 year, $22.52 million

The Houston Texans traded second- and fifth-round picks to acquire Stefon Diggs this offseason as he’s projected to serve as C.J. Stroud’s top target this season. Houston also restructured the wideout’s contract, allowing him to hit free agency in the spring.

Granted, some will claim that Diggs isn’t the same player he used to be and lost a step in 2023. However, if a 100-catch, nearly 1,200-yard and eight-touchdown performance is a “down year”, that’s a pretty high floor. Also, he has a streak going of six consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns and has posted triple digits in receptions five times in the last six years.

Since the Texans chose to wipe out the final three years of Diggs’ current contract, there hasn’t been any news about the two sides working on an extension. Reading between the lines, that likely means the receiver will hit the open market in the offseason.

So, while the 31-year-old free agent likely won’t get a long-term contract, expect him to sign a high dollar-per-year deal in the two- to three-year range. Over The Cap currently has his valuation at just under $17 million, but that number will go up with another strong showing in Houston this fall.

Date of Birth: Feb. 27, 1996 (28.3)

Career Stats: 529 receptions, 6,690 yards, 34 touchdowns (7 seasons)

Current Contract (via Over The Cap): 3 years, $60 million

While Mike Evans is and has been the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ top receiver over the last decade, Chris Goodwin is a good second option.

The eight-year pro has been productive with over 80 catches and 1,000 yards in each of the last three seasons and has crossed those thresholds in four out of the last five years. The lone exception was in 2020, when he was limited to 12 regular-season games due to injury and likely would have surpassed the benchmarks as he posted 65 catches for 840 yards.

What’s even more impressive about Godwin’s run is that he put up those numbers with several different quarterbacks, ranging from Tom Brady to Jameis Winston. That should give suitors in free agency more confidence that the wideout can come in and be productive, especially if he can serve as a team’s No. 1 receiver.

On that note, it’s looking like the 2017 third-round pick will be playing for a different team for the first time in his career next season as ESPN’s Jenna Laine reported that the Bucs and Godwin haven’t begun extension talks.

“The Bucs will want to see how he performs in Liam Coen’s offense moving back to the inside, where Godwin saw a heavy amount of production in Bruce Arians’ offense,” Laine stated on May 29.

Granted, there’s a lot of time between now and next spring, but the wideout is still under 30 and has a strong résumé, so he should get a nice raise in the offseason.

Date of Birth: March 17, 1998 (26.2)

Career Stats: 269 receptions, 3,931 yards, 25 TDs (4 seasons)

Current Contract (via Over The Cap): 4 years, $12,531,340 million (playing on $14.124 million fifth-year option in 2024)

Brandon Aiyuk is an easy pick as one of the top five wide receivers to receive a massive contract extension soon. He’s been productive with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, including a 1,300-yard performance last fall, and at least five touchdowns every year of his career.

Also, the Arizona State product is young and currently in negotiations with the San Francisco 49ers for a new deal. However, those talks have seemingly hit an impasse as he didn’t report to mandatory minicamp, and his personal wide receiver coach, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, recently cast some doubt that the two parties will reach an agreement.

“At one point, [Aiyuk] thought he was going to sign, so he was like, ‘I’m not going to come out [to work out] because I might have to go when I sign,” Houshmandzadeh said on June 6 while appearing on 95.7 The Game’s ‘Willard and Dibs’.

“That optimistic outlook has turned into a pessimistic outlook. At one point he thought, ‘Damn, I might be leaving soon,’ and now it’s, ‘I have no idea.'”

Granted, the 49ers could use the franchise tag Aiyuk next offseason, so the team does have a decent amount of leverage in this situation and that could prevent the young wideout from getting a record-setting contract next spring. But regardless, he’s set to make a good chunk of change in 2025.

Date of Birth: Jan. 18, 1999 (25.4)

Career Stats: 257 receptions, 3,684 yards, 24 TDs (4 seasons)

Current Contract (via Over The Cap): 1 year, $21,816,000 (franchise tag)

For a lot of the same reasons as Brandon Aiyuk, Tee Higgins is another easy pick as one of the next wide receivers to earn a mega deal in free agency.

Higgins has been consistently productive with over 65 catches, 900 yards and six touchdowns during his first three seasons in the NFL, including back-to-back 74-catch and 1,000-yard performances in 2021 and 2022. Granted, he is coming off his worst year statistically with 42 grabs for 656 yards and five scores.

However, injuries played a factor in the former second-round pick’s performance last fall as he was limited to 12 games. Also, with Joe Burrow missing about half of the team’s contests, the Cincinnati Bengals were forced to use backup quarterback Jake Browning for a good chunk of the season.

That makes Higgins’ numbers even more impressive and the Bengals also had to dip into the depth chart at the most important position on the field during the wideout’s rookie year to add more contest to his career statistics.

Additionally, the fifth-year pro has been at the center of contract controversies around the league for the better part of the last two years. However, those talks have stalled as Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the Bengals low-balled Higgins’ camp and he’s seeking something in the ballpark of a three-year, $70 million deal.

That led to the receiver asking for a trade and the two sides haven’t talked in over a year, per ESPN’s Ben Baby’s report on May 29. But, whether it’s in Cincinnati or somewhere else, expect Higgins to eventually get a massive new contract.

Date of Birth: April 8, 1999 (25.2)

Career Stats: 395 receptions, 5,145 yards, 32 touchdowns

Current Contract (via Over The Cap): 4 years, $14,010,014 (playing on $17,991,000 fifth-year option)

It’s hard to argue against Ceedee Lamb being the most likely wide receiver to earn a big contract extension in the offseason.

He came out of the gates strong with an impressive performance as a rookie, racking up 74 catches for 935 yards and five touchdowns. Since then, all he’s done is improve in every major statistical category year after year, most recently logging a league-high 135 receptions with nearly 1,750 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023.

The first-team All-Pro became the focal point of the Cowboys’ offense last season, leading the team in receiving yards by almost 1,000 and scoring four more touchdowns than anyone else. That was a big reason why Dallas topped the NFL in points per game, and why Jerry Jones was trending on social media after Justin Jefferson’s deal was announced.

Jones is going to have to open up the checkbook if he wants to keep Lamb as even Micah Parsons–who is also hoping to get a new contract–even said the wideout is “about to hit the brink truck”, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News.

The expectation is that the 2020 first-round pick will join his draft classmate in the $34 to $35 million per year range and don’t be surprised if he surpasses that number. While most would agree that Jefferson is a better wideout than Lamb, that’s not always how free agency works as the highest-paid player at the position is often the next one.