Training camp is still several weeks away, but now is the perfect time for NFL teams to negotiate with key contributors on long-term contract extensions. Players like Ryan Tannehill and Cam Newton already received high-priced extensions earlier in the offseason, but many NFL superstars are hoping to receive their big paydays before the 2015 season begins.
Russell Wilson, Demaryius Thomas next in line for contract extensions
Cam Newton and Ryan Tannehill signed new deals this offseason, but there are still big-name players hoping to get contract extensions done before the new season starts.
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There's an advantage that can come with waiting, though. While the Seattle Seahawks are taking their time to lock down Russell Wilson, and the same with the Indianapolis Colts and Andrew Luck, the market for franchise quarterbacks continues to go up.
Newton received a five-year, $103.76 million deal from the Carolina Panthers while the Miami Dolphins gave Ryan Tannehill a six-year, $96 million contract extension. Those big numbers only increase the amount of money that Wilson and Luck will eventually receive.
Quarterbacks aren’t the only ones set to receive contract extensions, though. Here’s a look at a few of the top players who could sign new deals soon:
The Denver Broncos have allowed a few important players to walk in free agency, including tight end Julius Thomas most recently, but the team insists that wide receiver Demaryius Thomas isn't leaving anytime soon. Some would say it doesn't matter who is catching passes from Peyton Manning, but it's hard to imagine most receivers replicating the 111 receptions, 1,619 yards and 11 touchdowns Thomas managed in 2015.
Thomas hasn't been attending OTAs or minicamp practices while he pines for a new contract, but new Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak has a plan in place for getting Thomas all caught up when he returns. That could be soon too because Kubiak is "confident" that the three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver will have a deal in place before training camp begins for the Broncos.
Russell Wilson
Positive momentum in contract talks between Russell Wilson and the Seahawks seem to have hit an impasse because Seattle is hesitant to throw the amount of money at Wilson that other franchise quarterbacks have received. ESPN reported that the Seahawks are willing to pay Wilson more along the lines of what Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick make, but they have balked at the idea of giving him a deal worth more than $100 million.
Signing Wilson to a deal under $100 million is going to be tough after Tannehill has approached the mark and Newton and Matt Ryan have eclipsed it. Wilson has a 36-12 record as a starter, two trips to the Pro Bowl and two trips to the Super Bowl in just three seasons.
Further complicating things for the Seahawks: they're working to extend linebacker Bobby Wagner at the same time. Wagner is one of the best linebackers in the NFL, and his contract is up the same time as Wilson's. If they need the franchise tag to be an option for one of these guys, that means getting at least one of them signed to an extension sooner rather than later.
The New York Jets have multiple talented defensive linemen, and Muhammad Wilkerson is easily at the top of that list. He's effective and has a whole lot of football in front of him, yet the Jets haven't made significant strides in getting Wilkerson signed to a contract extension. Wilkerson was not at the team's initial voluntary workouts, but despite wanting a new deal, he did not hold out from the latest three-day minicamp.
Wilkerson deserves to be mentioned along the same lines as guys like Ndamukong Suh and J.J. Watt, and if he hit the open market most believe he'll get a massive contract from a team who sees his value. His teammate Sheldon Richardson agrees, recently saying Wilkerson is worth the same kind of money going to Suh and Watt. It's unclear why he and the Jets are apparently so far apart when it comes to a potential deal. It likely has to do with the fact that the Jets brought in rookie Leonard Williams in the first round this offseason. Williams was the consensus best player in the draft and the Jets had to be elated for him to fall in their laps. If Williams looks good early, Wilkerson may never see that extension and may have to wait until he hits the open market.
Andrew Luck
The Indianapolis Colts are in no hurry to give Andrew Luck a contract extension, and given the numbers we’ve already seen from quarterbacks, it’s easy to see why. Once they open the floodgates and pay the 2012 first-round pick, barring some very unlikely massive regression, they’ll continue paying him a truckload of cash for a long, long time.
And it would be a truckload -- Luck will make just $3.4 million this season, but he’s earned three Pro Bowl nods and made three trips to the postseason since he entered the league in 2012. Indianapolis is one of the most talented teams in the NFL, and the longer it waits, the more quarterbacks will get paid and the more Luck can expect in his eventual deal. Still, the Colts have already exercised his fifth-year contract option for 2016, so they could hold off for a while on a new deal.
The Atlanta Falcons made an extremely risky move when they traded five draft picks to the Cleveland Browns to move up to their spot and draft Julio Jones in 2011. That move hasn't led to overall success for the team, but Jones, one of the best receivers in the league, can't be faulted for that. In 2014, he caught 104 passes for 1,593 yards and six touchdowns. If not for injury concerns -- he played in 16 games just once in four seasons -- giving him the biggest deal for any receiver is a no-brainer.
That said, the Falcons have already exercised Jones' fifth-year contract option and it's been widely reported that the team would not hesitate to use the franchise tag on Jones if need be. The Falcons need Jones, but they'll likely need to give him something close to what the Detroit Lions are paying Calvin Johnson. That means an average near or above $15 million per season, which is hard to swallow for any team. Atlanta might be waiting to see if Jones comes out of the gate healthy and just as explosive as last season in 2015 before pulling the trigger on an extension.
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