First it was Davante Adams, then Tyreek Hill. In 2021 they had been second and third within the NFL in receptions respectively, each very important to the offense of two of the NFL’s greatest groups. Now, they’re gone — and the Jacksonville Jaguars performed an enormous position.

On Wednesday the Chiefs introduced they had been buying and selling Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins in trade for 5 picks, together with Miami’s first rounder in 2022. It got here one week after the Packers dealt Davante Adams to the Raiders for an additional bevy of picks. Adams signed a five-year, $141.5 million deal. Hill obtained his cash too, being given a record-breaking four-year, $120M deal that makes him the best paid huge receiver in NFL historical past.

Each have the Jaguars to thank.

Jacksonville’s greatest splash signing on the opening day of free company was luring Christian Kirk to North Florida with a four-year, $72M deal that might be value as a lot as $84M if he hits efficiency escalators. It was a king’s ransom for a receiver who was a perennial third possibility within the Cardinals offense, and solely earned important time as a starter in 2021, the place he completed with 982 yards. Banking on promise, paired with having to pay a “dangerous group tax,” the Jaguars obliterated the huge receiver market with a single deal. Kirk wasn’t simply twenty seventh within the league in receiving yards final 12 months, he wasn’t even seen as the very best receiver on this group of free brokers — so when he obtained paid like an elite franchise cornerstone, every thing shifted.

The tenor instantly modified. It grew to become clear Inexperienced Bay wasn’t going to have the ability to signal Adams to the long-term extension they hoped, precipitating his commerce. Hill had been engaged in discussions with the Chiefs as nicely, however now cash had change into the sticking level. You actually can’t blame both Adams or Hill on this state of affairs. If somebody like Kirk is making $74M, with $37M assured — then it’s completely inside purpose that two of the NFL’s greatest are value nine-figure contracts.

This was, merely put, unimaginable for both group to soak up. With Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes on big-money contract extensions, it’s unrealistic to commit over 1 / 4 of the wage cap to 2 gamers — not with out jeopardizing the remainder of the group because of this. In the meantime the shared DNA of Las Vegas and Miami is that they’re not vastly overspending on the QB place. Derek Carr is on the tail finish of an extension signed in 2017 that can depend simply over $19M in opposition to the cap this 12 months, whereas Tua Tagovailoa remains to be on a rookie contract. Each groups had the area to soak up a mammoth cap hit from a top-flight receiver underneath the NFL’s new ballooning pay.

The paradigm shift underscores how ill-prepared the NFL was for receiver pay to blow up. A 12 months in the past Amari Cooper was the one WR to make over $20M, with the vast majority of high receiver contracts falling within the $10-15M vary. Now, there are 5 receivers set to make over $20M, with one other seven incomes over $15M. There may be going to be plenty of ache transferring ahead and exceedingly robust choices. Whereas QB and WR pay are growing exponentially, the wage cap just isn’t maintaining. Within the final 4 years the cap has solely risen $20M, whereas positional salaries have boomed, particularly on offense.

Because of this except there’s important cap aid in 2023 permitting groups to spend extra (one thing homeowners are doubtless loathed to do as a result of it eats into their income), groups must start deciding whether or not they need to pay an elite quarterback OR an elite receiver, as a result of they doubtless can’t afford each. Gamers should receives a commission, they usually’re going to search out somebody to pay them, whether or not or not which means competing for a contender or not.

Probably the most attention-grabbing wrinkle to all that is once we have a look at how efficient younger receivers have been in recent times. NFL offenses are so like school in trendy soccer that the thought of a sluggish onboarding course of, or the 1-2 12 months construct to being a high receiver is gone. Justin Jefferson broke the NFL’s rookie receiving report in 2020, then it was instantly bested by Ja’Marr Chase. In reality, 11 of the NFL’s high 25 receivers by yardage had been nonetheless on their rookie contracts in 2021.

So whereas we’re going to see contracts balloon on the place for confirmed expertise, we may additionally see a churn begin to impact the place with regards to the very best groups, just like what we’ve seen at operating again — although for various causes. The favored perception now’s that top-tier groups now not signal rushers to large extensions, as an alternative they allow them to stroll after their rookie contracts, and discover one other. It’s an unfair system designed to account for operating backs breaking down and changing into damage susceptible. Now we may see that with receivers too, however as an alternative groups will allow them to stroll due to their upcoming payday.

In flip this can place a better onus on scouting departments that may discover NFL-ready receivers instantly, so groups can maximize their manufacturing on low cost, backed rookie contracts — then transfer on.

Whereas it’s fully doubtless we might have seen these contracts rise on their very own naturally, there’s little question that Jacksonville’s signing of Christian Kirk expedited the method. Gamers who would have accepted $80-90M offers are actually in search of $120-140M. The yearly impression has gone up from $15M to now approaching $30M. There isn’t any doubt that the brokers for Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill talked about Kirk’s contract in negotiating their new offers, and because of this each Inexperienced Bay and Kansas Metropolis are weaker groups at present because of this.

This new regular just isn’t one thing the NFL was ready for, and it’s going to be fascinating to look at it unfold over the approaching 2-3 years. Both the wage cap jumps considerably, or groups might want to utterly change how they’re doing enterprise and constructing groups. Both means, we now have the Jaguars to thank.