Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah told reporters at the Combine on Tuesday that an extension for WR Justin Jefferson is a “high priority” for them this offseason.
“I don’t want to be the Vikings’ GM without that guy on our team,” Adofo-Mensah said, via ESPN.com. “So it’s a high priority. We’ve got to make sure we do in the order that we can do it in, obviously, given all of our other decisions we have to make.”
“He’s trying to put the Minnesota Vikings on his back,” Adofo-Mensah added. “He wants to win a championship. When you have people like that in your building, you try everything you can to not let them out.”
Jefferson said last month that he wasn’t focused on an extension.
“I mean if it comes, it comes. It comes with the success. It’s not really something that I’m really worried about or I have my mind set on,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson could ultimately reset the receiver salary market with a record contract at over $30 million when all is said and done.
Jefferson, 24, was a two-year starter at LSU and set the single-season record for receptions in 2019 before being selected by the Vikings with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Jefferson just finished the third year of a four-year, $13,122,805 rookie contract that included a $7,103,858 signing bonus. The contract includes a fifth-year option for the Vikings to pick up for the 2024 season.
In 2022, Jefferson appeared in all 17 games for the Vikings and recorded 128 receptions on 184 targets for 1,809 yards and eight touchdowns. He added four carries for 24 yards and another touchdown.
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