Hogs Haven
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On the surface, it shouldn’t be that hard for McLaurin and the Commanders to reach an agreement since the wide receiver market is well-defined. Age is surely an important consideration for the Commanders. McLaurin played his first NFL season in 2019 as a 24-year-old rookie. He turns 30 on Sept. 15.
Getting a deal done is going to require the Commanders acknowledging that McLaurin is a No. 1 wide receiver and should be paid accordingly. McLaurin is the primary receiving threat on the Commanders. He led the Commanders with 117 targets in 2024.
The Commanders designating McLaurin as a franchise player in 2026 if he plays out his contract won’t be cheap. It will cost $30.2 million at a minimum with the way the 120% of prior year’s salary provisions work with franchise tags. The 20% increase is primarily based on a player’s salary cap number from the previous year. McLaurin’s franchise tag would be $30.45 million if he is named to the 2025 Pro Bowl on the original ballot because his $250,000 Pro Bowl incentive would be classified as likely to be earned and added in after calculating the increase. Expect McLaurin’s camp to factor the franchise tag amount into their negotiation equation.
One way to try to help resolve the stalemate between McLaurin and the Commanders could be to look at the contracts of the six wide receivers named first- or second-team All-Pro last season.
Collectively, these six wide receivers are signed to extensions with $722.61 million of new money for 22 new contract years to average $32,845,909 per year. The oldest of these wide receivers at signing, excluding McLaurin, was Brown. He turned 27 a couple of months after he got his deal. The other four were either 25 or close to being 25 when they signed.
Another data point that could be useful is adjusting McLaurin’s existing contract for salary cap inflation. The salary cap has increased by 34.1% since McLaurin signed in 2022. His deal is a little less than $31.125 million per year when factoring in salary cap growth.
Washington Commanders offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil has been named the No. 86 on the NFL’s annual list of top 100 players, marking the fifth time in his career that he has received a ranking.
Tunsil (6-5, 316) is a 10-year NFL veteran who entered the league with the Miami Dolphins as a first-round pick (13th overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft. In his career, Tunsil has started in all 125 games he has appeared in and is...
