Predicting the details of Steelers next three contract extensions

Diontae Johnson

Contract Prediction: 4 years, $77M ($19.25M per year), $40M guaranteed

It was wild to see the going rate of quality wide receivers this past offseason. Christian Kirk — despite playing the vast majority of snaps from the slot and never earning a 1,000-yard season — received a massive 4-year, $72 million deal recently.

This number of $18 million per season, sent cap evaluators through a tailspin. As a result, Diontae  Johnson has been projected to make anything between $18-26 million in yearly value.

I’ve gone back and forth on this. I do believe that Johnson is a better player than Kirk with a recent Pro Bowl selection and a 1,000-yard season under his belt. However, I don’t think other teams are going to value him like A.J. Brown — who just received $25 million per year on his new deal.

Though size doesn’t matter to the Steelers at the wide receiver position, many teams would prefer not to have a 5’10 1/2”, 183-pound receiver on the outside. Meanwhile, D.J. Moore, Mike Williams, and Chris Godwin each received $20 million in yearly value on their new deals, but they are bigger receivers with multiple 1,000-yard seasons. I think Johnson comes in just under this number.