Commanders have an obvious decision to make when it comes to Terry McLaurin's future with the team
Jayden Daniels is the clear-cut star of the Washington Commanders, but wide receiver Terry McLaurin isn't very far behind for those who follow the team closely.Not only is McLaurin one of the NFL's top receivers, he's a great person and teammate. 2024 was the best year of his career and it was much-deserved, as he's […]
Jayden Daniels is the clear-cut star of the Washington Commanders, but wide receiver Terry McLaurin isn't very far behind for those who follow the team closely.
Not only is McLaurin one of the NFL's top receivers, he's a great person and teammate. 2024 was the best year of his career and it was much-deserved, as he's been flying under the radar for a few years, now.
Said few years have added up to where McLaurin is entering the final year of the three-year, $68.364 million deal he signed back in 2022. And with that, there's one obvious move the Commanders need to make: extend McLaurin by however many years necessary.
2025 is McLaurin's age-30 season, which means he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. He obviously has a great rapport with Daniels that's only going to get stronger and he's one of the few guys that make up the team's heartbeat.
As it stands, McLaurin will count $25.5 million against the cap in 2025, which is a high number. A good chunk of that comes in the form of a $15.5 million base salary and a $2.8 million roster bonus that's due on the fifth day of the new league year. The good thing about those two numbers is they're paid out in cash, which means they can be manipulated via turning them into signing bonuses and whatnot. Plus, an extension likely means McLaurin's cap hit will drop and it could significantly drop, as well.
McLaurin's contract structure, plus the Commanders healthy $87.5 million-plus in cap space should make this a relatively easy move. There's also the mutual respect between McLaurin and the Commanders, which adds another layer that works in both parties' favor. That last part is more important than you think and it's not as common as it should be, either.
Now, don't get it twisted. McLaurin won't come cheaply, as he shouldn't. Spotrac's current market value estimation for a new deal is along the lines of four-years and $131,371,228 million. That comes out to $27.5 million per year and it would tie Chicago Bears wideout D.J. Moore for the ninth-highest salary, in terms of average value, at the position. That's a bit high, but it does fit with the recent mold of receivers getting paid a ton of money, so it fits that bill.
Over The Cap's evaluation seems a bit more plausible at $21,084,000 million per year, but that would represent a "pay cut" when comparing it to his current deal that's paying him $22,788,000 million per year. Now, the Commanders could structure the contract to where it's front loaded and there's more money guaranteed at signing in order to help offset the lower AAV, but that may not happen considering McLaurin is coming off the best year of his career.
Either way, as mentioned earlier, there is an open path to make this work out for everyone. It should be an offseason priority, as well. Locking up a leader, Daniels' favorite target and one of the better players in franchise history, on top of creating cap room is a win-win-win that has to get done.