Waddle was the tortoise and he beat the hare, Tua Tagovailoa to the finish line in the race for Miami Dolphins contract extensions. The Dolphins and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle have agreed to a 3-year, $84.75 million contract extension, according to ESPN’s senior NFL insider Adam Schefter.
As part of the deal, which will run through the 2028 campaign, Waddle will be guaranteed $76 million.
“I couldn’t be more happier,” Tyreek Hill wrote on social media after news of the deal broke.
Added All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey: “YEAHHHHH DUB! Get that munyun! BIG YEAR loading!”
Embed from Getty ImagesWaddle, 25 years-of-age, has been one of quarterback Tagovailoa’s favorite and reliable weapons in the Dolphins’ offense along with Hill.
In only three seasons with the Dolphins, Waddle already obtained a pair of franchise records, three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons and most receiving yards in the first three years of his career (3,385).
Dolphins’ general manager Chris Grier said just prior to the NFL draft in April that the organization was encouraged about where things stood with Waddle’s extension. He scoffed at the notion that Miami should consider trading Waddle and doubled down on the team’s commitment to keeping him around long term.
“No, as I said in the middle of the season, I have no thoughts of trading Jaylen Waddle,” Grier said in February. “We want him here for a long time, and we think he’s a big part of our now and our future here. He’s a great person on and off the field, and we still think, as good as he is, he still has runway to keep getting better.”
Since entering the NFL in 2021, Waddle has been the epitome of a great receiver, snagging 251 catches and 18 receiving touchdowns. And of his 47 games played, he has finished with at least 100 receiving yards in 10 of them.
Waddle, the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Alabama, is now in the top of five of the NFL’s highest-paid receivers. His $28.25 million average annual salary, should he play out and receive the entire $84.75 million, moves him ahead of Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders ($28 million) and just behind ‘The Cheetah’, Hill ($30 million).
The $76 million guaranteed salary is third all time for a wide receiver. Only A.J. Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles ($84 million) and Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions ($77 million) are ahead of Waddle.
