Amid a contract dispute with the Washington Commanders that has him holding in during training camp and recently requesting a trade, star wide receiver Terry McLaurin has his eyes set on a specific contract structure at 30 years old.
That contract structure? It’s similar to the one 27-year-old DK Metcalf received this offseason from the Pittsburgh Steelers after they traded for him.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, who co-hosted the latest podcast episode of “Scoop City” with The Athletic’s Chase Daniel, McLaurin isn’t exactly eyeing the annual average of the contract that Metcalf received at roughly $33 million per year, but he wants a similar structure.
“From what I can gather, nothing has changed significantly yet,” Russini said of the McLaurin saga, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “So I know there’s some talk out there that McLaurin is looking for that identical contract of DK Metcalf. I heard there’s parts of that contract that he’s looking for, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the exact APY, right? Because the thing that’s holding Washington back from jumping in, despite the fact that they love Terry…I think they’re at a point right now where Washington saying for, ‘Us, you’re turning 30 years old on September 15th, right?
“‘That’s in just a few months here, to give you a contract that is relative to the receivers that we’re seeing get paid who are younger just doesn’t make sense.'”
As previously reported, the first two years of Metcalf’s contract are fully guaranteed. From a cash flow perspective, as Steelers Depot’s Dave Bryan laid out in March, Metcalf will earn $60 million through the 2026 season with the Steelers. Additionally, the new money cash flow for Metcalf for his entire deal is $131,999,529 as he was scheduled to earn $18,000,471 in 2025 before he landed the big extension with the Steelers.
While Metcalf is two years younger than McLaurin, the Washington star wants a similar structure and salary. But the Commanders have balked at paying a soon-to-be 30-year-old receiver more than $30 million per season, even though they have tons of cap space and a star QB on a rookie contract in Jayden Daniels.
There hasn’t been much progress made in McLaurin’s contract talks with the Commanders, which led to the Ohio State product requesting a trade.
He’s coming off a season in which he hauled in 82 passes for 1,096 yards and 13 touchdowns and helped the Commanders reach the NFC Championship Game.
McLaurin was adamant that he wants to be with Washington before the trade request, and the organization has spoken highly of him, both the player and the person. But right now, the two sides don’t appear to be close to a new deal. Ultimately, this seems like a situation in which something will get done, but McLaurin might not get exactly what he’s asking for from a contract standpoint.
