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The New York Jets have misfired on coaching hires, trades and draft picks during their 14-year playoff drought. But the team nailed the 2022 draft, landing Sauce Gardner, Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson in the first 36 picks. On Monday, the Jets made the wise decision to extend Wilson, signing the wideout to a four-year, $130 million contract.
Despite entering a rebuild under new head coach Aaron Glenn, New York realized the importance of locking down Wilson and Gardner on long term deals. The duo was awarded Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2022 and both are essential to a Jets team that isn’t exactly brimming with talent.
While a Gardner deal is still in the works, the team took care of Wilson first, rewarding the wideout for an exceptional three-year run under less than ideal circumstances.
Wilson is the only player in Jets history to start his career with three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. And he accomplished the feat with Zach Wilson, Mike White, Joe Flacco, Trevor Siemian and Tim Boyle under center.
Yes, Aaron Rodgers was the team’s quarterback in 2024. But Wilson had to compete for targets with the passer’s best bud when the Jets acquired Davante Adams in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders after Week 6.
Despite Rodgers’ tendency to look Adams’ way following their reunion, Wilson produced his best season as a pro in 2024. He notched 101 receptions for 1,104 yards and seven touchdowns – all career highs, while garnering 14 fewer targets than the previous year.
Jets signal shift toward respectability with Garrett Wilson extension
The Jets moved on from Rodgers and Adams as the team scrapped its misguided belief that it was on the verge of contending for a championship. Now New York is starting fresh with Glenn and first-time GM Darren Mougey.
Justin Fields will take over quarterbacking duties, for the time being, and the roster has morphed from one of the league’s oldest in 2024 to the second-youngest entering 2025. But the Jets deserve credit for not turning a rebuild into a fire sale. New York has some important foundational pieces that can help in Glenn’s task of transforming the team. And Wilson is at the top of the list.
The Jets picked up Wilson’s fifth-year option earlier this offseason. But it was clear the organization wanted to get a long term deal done before the wideout entered the final year of his rookie deal in 2026.
Wilson’s new contract for $130 million includes $90 million guaranteed and marks the first time a receiver averaged more than $31 million per season after playing just three years in the league. But All-Pro-caliber wideouts are a rare commodity in the NFL and the Jets recognized what they have in Wilson despite his relative lack of experience.
Wilson’s average yearly salary of $32.5 million makes him the fifth-highest paid receiver in football, just edging out Philadelphia Eagles' star A.J. Brown, per Spotrac. He’s behind only Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and D.K. Metcalf. And Wilson is the youngest of the group.
In fact, at 24 years old, Wilson is the youngest player in the top-30 highest-paid receivers. But given his success over three extremely tumultuous seasons in New York, his team-first attitude and remarkable talent, the Jets absolutely made the correct decision by investing in Wilson. And doing a deal now instead of waiting a season will actually save the team money. The price would only go up a year from now as other contracts lift the baseline.
Wilson is now the highest-paid player in Jets history. Defensive lineman Quinnen Williams comes in second, having signed a four-year, $96 million pact with the team in 2023.
There’s still a great deal of work left to do as the Jets attempt to pull out of their decade-plus-long tailspin. Quarterback remains a question mark as Fields has yet to prove he's a franchise QB after four years in the league. More pressingly, New York needs to add additional targets in the passing game as receiver depth is a major concern.
The organization also has big decisions to make on the futures of Breece Hall, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Quincy Williams as they’re all entering the final year of their deals.
The woebegone franchise hasn’t done much to inspire faith in the fanbase. But the Jets deserve credit for recognizing a special player and paying to keep him around. Signing Wilson could signal a shift in the organization's quest for respectability. Now the team must turn its attention to its other foundational piece and reach a deal that keeps Sauce Gardner in New York for the foreseeable future.
