Jaguars WR Christian Kirk’s deal looks great compared to Terry McLaurin’s

Great football players deserve to earn top dollar, that’s why it wasn’t shocking to see wide receiver Terry McLaurin sign a three-year deal worth $71 million ahead of training camp. He’s been a key cog on the Washington Commanders’ offense since being drafted in 2019 and has performed well even though they’ve lacked consistency at the quarterback position. On the other hand, the news will probably have the Jacksonville Jaguars feeling glad about the contract they gave to Christian Kirk in this year’s free agency.

After all, one look on social media will show that giving Kirk a four-year deal worth $72 million has been generally dubbed as the Jags’ worst offseason decision. Not everyone agrees it was a bad contract but those that didn’t like it argue that Jacksonville paid a premium for a wide receiver that hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season in his career. However, the Texas A&M product got very close last year and proved he was a capable No. 1 receiver when a series of injuries forced DeAndre Hopkins to sit out seven games.

The deal the Jaguars gave Christian Kirk looks like a bargain now

Kirk will step into the No. 1 receiver role in Jacksonville, and there’s no reason to doubt he should be even more productive with Trevor Lawrence throwing passes behind center. Moreover, several wide receivers have gone on to sign bigger deals since Kirk got his earlier this year. Here’s a look at some of them:

There are some household names on that list, with Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill leading the group at $30 million per year. Davante Adams isn’t that far behind, with an average of $28 million, per season. If you go by yearly average, Kirk doesn’t even crack the top ten (nor the list) and pops up at No. 15, behind Michael Thomas ($19.25 million), and Brandin Cooks ($19.882 million).

Sure, many of the receivers on the aforementioned list are among the best in the league, so their salary is on par with their production, and many of them are better than Kirk, but that’s precisely why their compensation is higher. When you take into account how quickly the market goes up from one year to another, the Jags paid a reasonable price for Kirk’s services.

If Kirk lives up to expectations and becomes the playmaker the Jaguars expect, nobody will be able to question the decision to sign him in free agency. The fact that Jacksonville had to pay significantly less for him than the Commanders did for McLaurin could even make it look like a bargain by the time the 2022 season is over.