Since 2011, the NFL's collective bargaining agreement has given teams the option of adding a fifth year to the rookie contract of a first-round pick. In that time, the Vikings might never have faced an easier decision than the one they made Tuesday.
They exercised wide receiver Justin Jefferson's fifth-year option, according to a league source, keeping the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year under contract for the 2024 season. Jefferson, who has been to the Pro Bowl in each of his three seasons, would be in line to make $19.743 million in 2024. He and Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs are the only players in the 2020 draft class who secured an escalator clause in their fifth-year option by making multiple Pro Bowls in their first three years.