Both Ohio State Buckeyes could soon command more than $30 million per year
Now this is a big deal for Chris Olave — but it’s a bigger deal for Garrett Wilson. On Monday, the New York Jets wide receiver reached an agreement on a record-setting contract extension valued at $130 million over four years, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Wilson is the first wideout in NFL history to receive a deal averaging more than $31 million per year after playing just three seasons in the pros.
And it’s an important factor for Olave and the New Orleans Saints, who have their own negotiations on the horizon. Olave and Wilson weren’t just picked in the the same 2022 draft class. They went to the same school at Ohio State, and until a series of concussions interrupted him, Olave and Wilson were driving a debate about who was the better player. When Olave’s agent sits down with the Saints in the near future, he’ll have grounds to seek at least $30 million per year in a new contract.
They’ve both dealt with spotty quarterback play since turning pro, but just look at the numbers. Wilson (who has appeared in 51 games with the Jets) has averaged 5.5 receptions and 63.7 receiving yards per game, at 11.6 yards per catch. Olave (limited to 39 games) has managed 4.9 receptions and 65.8 yards per game, with 13.4 yards per catch. Pro Football Reference has Olave with a higher catch rate (63.5%) and success rate (55.5%), than Wilson, too (at 59.5% and 48.4%, respectively). Despite appearing in a dozen more games, Wilson has only scored four more touchdowns than Olave, too.
For now, Olave is set to play on a relatively-modest $6.1 million salary cap hit in 2025 before that number goes up to more than $15.4 million in 2026 after the Saints picked up his fifth-year option. Given his injury history, they may want to take a wait-and-see approach before investing $30 million or more per season in a new deal. At the same time, that number is only going to climb higher. Wide receivers are expensive. So are quarterbacks. If someone like Tyler Shough or Spencer Rattler can become a viable starter, paying Olave what he’s worth becomes a lot easier to swallow.