Former Tennessee Vols WR Jauan Jennings is one of the biggest bargains in the NFL
In a league where teams often try to mitigate the damage from bad contracts that impact their salary cap, former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jauan Jennings stands out as one of the best bargains in the NFL. Jennings, who just completed his fifth season with the San Francisco 49ers, emerged as one of his team's […]
In a league where teams often try to mitigate the damage from bad contracts that impact their salary cap, former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jauan Jennings stands out as one of the best bargains in the NFL.
Jennings, who just completed his fifth season with the San Francisco 49ers, emerged as one of his team's go-to options in 2024 after injuries prematurely ended the seasons of star players Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey.
The former Vol finished the 2024 season with 77 receptions for 975 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games (he likely would've reached 1,000 receiving yards had he not been ejected in the 49ers' regular season finale).
Not only did Jennings provide plenty of production in the passing game in 2024 (especially on third down, which is known as "third-and-Jauan" in San Francisco), but he continued to make his mark as a relentless competitor who is one of the fiercest blocking receivers in the league.
Jennings' incredible work ethic has earned him plenty of praise from his 49ers teammates.
"Anyone that watches tape, they look at Jauan's tape and go 'holy cow, this guy is one of one,'" said 49ers tight end George Kittle last summer. "His mindset and his attitude when he's on a football field is completely different. He goes to that dark place that Coach (Kyle) Shanahan talks about…he is just very violent in the way that he plays the game — which you don't see in all receivers."
Over the last few years, we've seen wide receiver salaries skyrocket.
This past season, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill had the NFL's highest cap hit for a wide receiver at $31.9 million. Hill finished the season with 959 yards and and six touchdowns in 17 games.
In 2025, wide receiver Davante Adams will have the highest wide receiver cap hit at $38.3 million. Adams totaled 1,063 yards and eight touchdowns in 14 games in 2024.
Jennings' cap hit in 2024 was $2.7 million. In 2025, his cap hit will be $7 million.
That's incredible value considering what Jennings brings as a pass-catcher and as a blocker (not to mention the impact he has a teammate in the locker room….something that can't be defined by numbers).
The two year extension worth $15.4 million that Jennings signed with San Francisco before the 2024 season is easily one of the best bargains in the sport. The only thing that would've made that deal better for the 49ers would've been if the team had signed Jennings to a three year deal.
But fortunately for Jennings, who will turn 28 next summer, he should be young enough that he's able to land another semi-lucrative extension while he's still in the prime of his career. And hopefully for the former Vol, that's what happens. Jennings has been underpaid for his entire NFL career after getting selected by the 49ers in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft. That's a good thing for the 49ers, but there's no doubt that Jennings deserves an even bigger pay day after the way he performed in 2024.