Early Extension Season: Which NFL First-Rounders Are Set for Big Paydays?

The NFL is a business, and while on-field performance is king, contract negotiations are the silent battles waged behind the scenes. As the 2025 season progresses, several first-round picks from recent drafts are approaching the end of their rookie contracts, making them eligible for lucrative extensions. With the salary cap constantly rising, these young stars are poised to cash in, potentially resetting the market at their respective positions.

The Extension Landscape: A Look at the Timeline

Typically, NFL teams have a window to extend the contracts of their first-round picks after the conclusion of the player’s third regular season. This means players drafted in 2022 became eligible for extensions after the 2024 season. For these players, their rookie contracts would expire after the 2025 season if the fifth-year option was exercised, making this early extension period crucial. This year, several highly-regarded players are in line for massive deals.

Quarterbacks: The $60 Million Club Beckons

The quarterback market continues to explode, with top-tier signal-callers commanding record-breaking contracts. With Dak Prescott currently holding the league’s top average annual salary at $60 million, several young quarterbacks are positioning themselves to join or even surpass that elite financial tier.

Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers): Purdy has been deep in talks with the 49ers and is expected to command $50M+ annually. A deal could come soon. Purdy headlined the list of players playing above their pay grade in October, and he maintained that level of excellence throughout the 2024 season. His 82.4 PFF overall grade slotted 10th among qualifying quarterbacks, and he’s reached a 75.1 PFF passing grade or better every season since his debut in 2022. The former 263rd overall pick will soon become one of the NFL’s highest-paid players — it’s only a matter of if he will tie Dak Prescott at $60 million per year.
Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens): Entering Year 3 of his 5 year, $260M contract, Lamar holds cap hits of $74.5M in each of 2026 & 2027, putting pressure on the Ravens to strike early with his extension this time around. It won’t be easy, as Jackson has produced video-game-like numbers in each of the past 2 seasons, raising his value north of $68M per year.

Running Backs: Seeking Ground in a Capped Market

The running back market has been a topic of much debate in recent years, with teams hesitant to invest heavily in the position. Only a handful of running backs currently make more than $10 million annually, and market growth remains limited.

James Cook (Buffalo Bills): Cook’s demands are reportedly well above Buffalo’s valuation, stalling negotiations. Cook has now put together back-to-back strong seasons in Buffalo, including 18 total touchdowns last season.

Wide Receivers: New Stars Chasing the Chase Benchmark

Jamar Chase’s recent $40.25M annual deal reset the receiver market. While no one is expected to hit that figure this year, several top-tier WRs are next in line.

Terry McLaurin (Washington Commanders): McLaurin is aiming to eclipse $30M per year with Washington. In 2024, it’s almost exactly copy paste to what he’s done since he’s entered the league i mean just look at these. numbers. every single year this is literally almost the exact same player. every single season and by the way he’s done this with less than great and less than ideal quarterback play up until the 2024. season with Jaden Daniels.
Garrett Wilson (New York Jets): Wilson agreed to a four-year, $130MM extension in July 2025. Despite a mixed bag of QB play over his first three seasons, Wilson has improved steadily to begin his NFL career. The 24-year-old is now on a 2 year, $20M guarantee thanks to his 5th-year option being exercised, but the Jets appear poised to get something done sooner rather than later here. Wilson is a $24M player in our system currently, but getting ahead of Jaylen Waddle’s $28.25M APY is probably the floor.
Drake London (Atlanta Falcons): London is a strong candidate for early extensions, even with two years left on their rookie deals. The #8 overall pick from 2022 is extension-eligible for the first time this summer, and just turned 24 2 weeks ago. He fits the bill as the prototypical “young core weapon”, and should be intertwined with the Michael Penix Jr. era (especially before he gets expensive).

Tight Ends: Quietly Climbing

The tight end market has seen a minor reset recently, with George Kittle hitting $22.9M/year.

Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals): McBride can easily be overlooked, but he has rounded into one of the premier tight ends in the NFL, actually pacing the position in PFF’s wins above replacement metric in 2024. His 89.9 PFF receiving grade over the past two seasons ranks behind just Kittle, and his 195 catches and 105 first downs are second to Kelce. The 25-year-old is in line to become one of the three highest-paid tight ends in football, surpassing T.J. Hockenson’s $16.5 million average annual value.

Offensive Linemen: Protecting the Investment

With protection always in demand, several offensive linemen are in line for lucrative extensions.

Rashawn Slater (Los Angeles Chargers): Slater marginally reset the offensive tackle market at the start of training camp in July from the $28.125 million per year Tristan Wirfs received from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2024 to $28.25 million per year. His four-year, $113 million extension with the Los Angeles Chargers has an offensive lineman record $92 million in guarantees. The 2021 1st-rounder enters a contract year in 2025, set to earn a fully guaranteed $19M for the upcoming season. Coming off of a career year, Slater holds a $26M valuation in our system, but there’s plenty of case to be made that the 26-year-old eclipses Tristan Wirf’s $28M+ APY in the coming weeks.
Tyler Linderbaum (Baltimore Ravens): The 2022 1st-rounder enters a contract year this season, after Baltimore declined a $23.4M 5th-year option (improperly valued as an “offensive line” figure). That hasn’t stopped the two sides from discussing his long-term future in purple, as the 25-year-old likely seeks a top of market extension. According to Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta, the intention is to retain Linderbaum long term. Linderbaum’s option-year salary was $23.402 million, which is the 2025 franchise tag for offensive linemen, because he was named to the Pro Bowl on the original ballot in each of the past two seasons (2023 and 2024). This amount doesn’t reflect the center market. Since there aren’t specific option-year salaries for center, guard and tackle, the cost is the same regardless of position.
Ikem Ekwonu (Carolina Panthers): If the Panthers are too leery about Moton’s knee to make another big investment in him, they could instead choose to extend left tackle Ickey Ekwonu. Doing so would only save around $2.7 million this year, but it would save over $13 million in cap space for 2026.
Zach Tom (Green Bay Packers): Jordan Love’s right side protector has been one of the best overall tackles in the game across the past two seasons. He enters a contract year in 2025, set to earn $3.4M this season. Now carrying a $22M valuation in our system, the 26-year-old could be in for a massive raise soon.

Defensive Stars: Getting Paid for Disruption

Defensive players are also set to cash in, with edge rushers and defensive backs leading the way.

Trey Hendrickson (Cincinnati Bengals): Whether or not Hendrickson stays put in Cincinnati, he’s overdue for a raise. Since 2023, Hendrickson is tied for fifth among qualified edge rushers with a 91.2 PFF pass-rushing grade, and his 20.9% pass-rush win rate also places fifth. Showing no signs of decline even at age 30, the 2026 free agent will likely become one of the five highest-paid defenders in the NFL.
Micah Parsons (Dallas Cowboys): The edge rusher market was massively reset with the four-year, $186 million contract extension averaging $46.5 million per year Parsons received from the Green Bay Packers in connection with his trade from the Dallas Cowboys several days before the regular season opener. His $136.007 million in overall guarantees and $123.107 million fully guaranteed at signing are non-quarterback records. Parsons easily eclipsed the three-year, $123 million extension averaging $41 million edge rusher T.J. Watt signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in July to briefly become the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback.
Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner (New York Jets): Gardner agreed to a four-year, $120.4MM extension in July 2025.
Kyle Hamilton (Baltimore Ravens): Hamilton resetting the safety market isn’t a matter of if – it’s when. He checks every box on and off the field. Hamilton agreed to a four-year, $100.4MM extension in August 2025.
Trent McDuffie (Kansas City Chiefs): The 2022 1st-rounder has done all that’s been asked of him and more in KC across his first 3 NFL seasons, now finding himself extension-eligible for the first time this Spring. Derek Stingley Jr. ($30M), Jaycee Horn ($25M), & Patrick Surtain II ($24M) have already raised the financial bar here, and Ahmad Gardner could take things even higher in NY soon.

The early extension season is a critical period for NFL teams to secure their young talent and build for the future. As these first-round picks approach the end of their rookie contracts, the stakes are high, and the negotiations promise to be intense. Keep an eye on these players as they navigate the extension landscape and potentially reshape the financial hierarchy of the NFL.