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The New York Jets have misfired on coaching hires, trades and draft picks during their 14-year playoff drought. But the team nailed the 2022 draft, landing Sauce Gardner, Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson in the first 36 picks. On Monday, the Jets made the wise decision to extend Wilson, signing the wideout to a four-year, $130 million contract.
Despite entering a rebuild under new head coach Aaron Glenn, New York realized the importance of locking down Wilson and Gardner on long term deals. The duo won Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards in 2022 and both are essential to a Jets team that isn’t exactly brimming with talent.
While a Gardner deal is still in the works, the team took care of Wilson first, rewarding the wideout for an exceptional three-year run under less than ideal circumstances.
Wilson is the only player in Jets history to start his career with three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. And he accomplished the feat with Zach Wilson, Mike White, Joe Flacco, Trevor Siemian and Tim Boyle under center.
Yes, Aaron Rodgers was the team’s quarterback in 2024. But Wilson had to compete with the passer’s best bud Davante Adams for targets when the Jets acquired the veteran receiver in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders after Week 6.
Despite Rodgers’ tendency to look Adams’ way following their reunion, Wilson produced his best season as a pro in 2024. He notched 101 receptions for 1,104 yards and seven touchdowns – all career highs, while garnering 14 fewer targets than the previous year.
The Jets moved on from Rodgers and Adams as the team scrapped its misguided belief that it was on the verge of contending for a championship. Now New York is starting fresh Glenn and first-time GM Darren Mougey.
Justin Fields will take over quarterbacking duties, for the time being, and the roster has morphed from one of the league’s oldest in 2024 to the second-youngest entering 2025. But the Jets deserve credit for not turning a rebuild into a fire sale. New York has some important foundational pieces that can help in Glenn’s task of transforming the team. And Wilson is at the top of the list.
The Jets picked up Wilson’s fifth-year option earlier this offseason. But it was clear the organization wanted to get a long term deal done before the wideout entered the final year of his rookie deal in 2026.
Wilson’s new contract for $130 million includes $90 million guaranteed and marks the first time a receiver averaged more than $31 million a season after playing just three years in the league. But All-Pro-caliber wideouts are an essential commodity in the NFL and the Jets recognized what they have in Wilson despite his relative lack of experience.
Wilson’s average yearly salary of $32.5 million makes him the fifth-highest paid receiver in football, just edging out Philadelphia Eagles star A.J. Brown, per Spotrac. He’s behind only Ja’Marr...
