It seems like every day there is news regarding the contract squabble between the Washington Commanders and wide receiver Terry McLaurin. Generally, that news is no news and often hearsay. On Saturday, we had real news: the Commanders activated McLaurin from the physically unable to perform list, making him eligible to return to practice.

While McLaurin’s return to practice is good news, there is still no news on his contract. McLaurin is set to play the 2025 season on the final year of a three-year extension he signed in 2022. He’s reportedly asked to be paid more than the $33 million per season DK Metcalf received this offseason.

The Commanders, meanwhile, are much lower, using McLaurin’s age (he’ll be 30 next month) and the NFL’s history in teams paying receivers over 30 as their negotiating points.

Will the two sides come together on a new deal before the season begins in three weeks? That remains to be seen. But one former NFL agent has a compromise that could make both sides happy.

Joel Corry is a former NFL agent who now writes for CBS Sports and is also a salary cap expert. Here is Corry’s idea:

Using the recent deals that Denver WR Courtland Sutton (4 years, $92 million, $23M AAV) and New York Jets WR Garrett Wilson (4 years, $130 million, $32.5M AAV) signed, Corry offered some compromises.

A unique way of helping break the impasse would be incorporating a salary escalator and salary de-escalator into the deal. These mechanisms would provide a way for McLaurin to get close to his contract demands and the Commanders to financially address their concerns about diminishing returns. In a sense, the two sides would be making a bet about McLaurin after compromising on the base value of the deal.

Numerous NFL contracts have salary escalators. Salary de-escalators are few and far between besides the type of workout program base salary de-escalators that are primarily in Dallas Cowboys veteran contracts.

The most notable salary de-escalator was in quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s 2014 contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers. The salary decreases were primarily based on whether Kaepernick was named first- or second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press in the previous season. That was an extremely high threshold to prevent the de-escalator from being triggered. 

The only contract I can recall to have both a salary escalator and de-escalator was wide receiver Tyler Lockett’s 2018 extension with the Seattle Seahawks. Lockett’s salary increase and decrease were both based on his statistical performance. 

There are several data points that could be looked at in reaching a compromise value for a McLaurin extension. McLaurin is the primary receiving threat on the Commanders. Tee Higgins is the NFL’s highest-paid No. 2 wide receiver. He signed a four-year, $115 million contract, averaging $28.75 million per year, in March after being designated as a franchise player by the Cincinnati Bengals for a second straight year. The deal is worth up to $121.8 million through incentives.

McLaurin would need to continue to perform at the same level, or even better, in this instance. Corry lays out several numbers that McLaurin could reach, and some he’s never reached, and what his salaries could be in each case. Corry noted he doesn’t expect any contract between the two sides to have a salary escalator/salary de-escalator concept. He explained that NFL teams largely avoid player creativity in the contracts, while the player’s side are often opposed to clauses that would automatically cut the player’s pay based on production.

Corry said that he never used it when he was a player agent. It could be an option here, even if unlikely, because the two sides are at extremely opposite ends of the spectrum.

McLaurin’s side can point to the Sutton and Wilson contracts and say, “Terry is superior to both.” That would be correct. Sutton is the same age as McLaurin, and while he was excellent last season, he hasn’t been as consistent as McLaurin throughout his career. Wilson, a former top-10 pick, is almost five full years younger than McLaurin and is being paid based on what the Jets think he will be over the life of that new deal. Wilson does have 279 receptions in three seasons, but averages 11.6 yards per reception, whereas McLaurin averages almost 14 yards per reception.

The Commanders open the 2025 season in three weeks, and that should be considered the unofficial deadline for a new deal between both parties.