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- Dec 22, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) celebrates while leaving the field with Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner (54) after their game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Terry McLaurin Gets Big Time Deal: 3 Exciting Things To Watch

Originally posted on Total Apex Sports | By Ricky Allen | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 1:05 PM ET

Terry McLaurin got his quarterback last season. Now he’s getting paid. In one of the calmer holdouts of the offseason, the Washington Commanders’ top receiver agreed to a three-year deal worth more than $90 million, according to reports.

McLaurin, a third-round draft pick out of Ohio State, has been with the Commanders since 2019. His rookie season is the only one in which he failed to record a 1,000-yard receiving campaign. Over the years, he’s endured a carousel of quarterbacks, coaches, owners and team presidents.

He played the role of the “good soldier” until last season, when the Commanders landed quarterback Jayden Daniels, who has proven to be a potential turning point for the franchise.This season, McLaurin broke ranks. He skipped the start of training camp, landed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list when he did report, and eventually requested a trade after seeing no progress on a new contract.

Now, with a new owner, team president, effective quarterback and a massive extension in hand, McLaurin will have to prove he’s worth the money at 30 years old. While fans have long believed he deserved a payday, age often dictates relevance in a league where running backs and wide receivers come a dime a dozen.McLaurin has nothing left to prove statistically, but money has a way of changing expectations…and attitudes.

The Terry McLaurin Contract: 3 Expectations This Season

NBC Sports reports the Terry McLaurin contract goes up to $96 million dollars. The report also indicated, “McLaurin, who turns 30 next month, was previously unhappy with a contract that was set to pay him just $15.5 million in base salary for 2025. That’s far behind the top of the market in average annual value for receivers...” Now that’s over, here are three things to watch for this season:

McLaurin must become the Kobe Bryant of the Commanders. He’s going to need to put that team on his back more in the depth of what’s catching. Last season he only caught 5 deep balls 40 yards plus. He caught 82 for 1,096 yards but the average was 13 yards. Daniels needs to know he can air that ball out more, and that means getting down the field and catching everything coming. The money they’re going to pay him means everyone’s watching with higher expectations down range.
Terry McLaurin will have to come out Week 1 swinging. The critics will demolish him if he doesn’t set the pace immediately. Week 1 of the 2024 season only targeted four times, catching two for 17 yards. In addition, the Commanders lost that game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37-20 in what was Daniels’ debut. That’s not going to fly in 2025. Expect McLaurin to be targeted more in Week 1. If he’s not targeted at least eight times, Washington cannot complain.
A “Healthy Terry McLaurin” will have to stay healthy now more than ever. This has never been an issue for the Iron Man of the Commanders. He’s played every game since 2021. This is not the season to break that impressive streak.

Closing Thoughts

Pay the man! Finally! So happy for Terry McLaurin ! I thought this was the dumbest series of events that has occurred in the Washington Commanders era. But we all know what they were thinking: “Oh we got a good quarterback so everyone else is expendable.” Yeah, that’s EXACTLY what they were thinking. To be real, this was good for Daniels to see. In a space that teaches “Brotherhood”, the one man who could have left years ago but stayed and endured has. been treated as expendable.

When it comes to that money, all bets are off obviously. Daniels should take great note of this. We’re all happy it worked out, but this offseason will not be quickly forgtton. McLaurin deserves the pay day. It’s like working at a company for several years not bothing no one. Then when you ask for a raise mysteriously you become the problem (if you know you know…) Can we focus on Week 1 now?

This article first appeared on Total Apex Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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