Commanders Move Into Danger Zone on All-Pro Receiver Terry McLaurin Contract Clash originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The contract negotiations between the Washington Commanders and wide receiver Terry McLaurin have taken a turn for the worse. … without either side actually doing anything at all.
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At this moment, though, it’s not about blame. It’s about inflation.
McLaurin is entering the final season of his current contract with the Commanders. He sat out of mandatory minicamp to force the franchise to the negotiating table, but that deal – which we’ve long believed might come in at the $30 million APY level – hasn’t happened yet.
And it may have just become a little more challenging for the two sides to see eye-to-eye.
Why?
The New York Jets on Monday extended their top wide receiver, Garrett Wilson, with a four-year, $130 million contract. The deal makes Wilson one of the highest-paid receivers in football at $32.5 million APY.
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A comparison? McLaurin and Wilson have in some ways dealt with very similar circumstances. McLaurin has performed admirably despite all of the quarterback reshuffles that the Commanders have gone through. Once a competent and young signal-caller (Jayden Daniels) was brought in, McLaurin went through a career year in 2024.
Wilson has had his struggles with quarterbacks as well. In three seasons, he has caught passes from seven different signal-callers. Once the 2025 season begins, Justin Fields will make it eight.
The fact that the Jets have appreciated Wilson’s loyalty to the team, despite not having a quarterback he can rely on for the long term, with a long-term contract, is to some critics a key contrast to what the Commanders have done with McLaurin.
The asking price from McLaurin is – logically speaking – only going up after Wilson’s extension. “Scary Terry” is coming off a 13-touchdown season, and was an All-Pro for Washington in 2024. … and so it stands to reason that if Wilson is worthy of $32.5 mil per year …
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That $30 mil APY idea just got flushed. … meaning Washington just entered a cap-related danger zone.
An easy argument for Terry’s side to make is that McLaurin, even at age 30, deserves the kind of contract that Wilson received. The Commanders, meanwhile, have every reason to be mindful of the player’s age and shelf life. But no matter which side of the debate one favors, in the end, Washington needs to do what it must to get a deal done as the start of training camp looms.
It might’ve just gotten a bit more difficult. But that doesn’t change what McLaurin means to Washington in its bid for a Super Bowl berth.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.