Amari Cooper is in a terrific position to become the first wide receiver in NFL history to net a $100 million contract. Who’s going to pay him top-dollar?
Somebody will pay Amari Cooper handsomely this spring.
The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver is set to hit free agency for the first time in his NFL career. He was originally drafted as a top-five pick by the then-Oakland Raiders in the 2016 draft. Cooper was later dealt by the Silver and Black to America’s Team midway through the 2018 campaign. Now, he’s poised to cash in big-time during his impending free agency.
So, who’s going to pay Cooper top-dollar? Somebody will, right?
Odds are, he’ll be back with the Cowboys on a long-term extension. He could be slapped with the franchise tag, but the Cowboys are more likely to use it on their starting quarterback Dak Prescott this offseason. So what we’re looking at with Cooper is a multi-year contract, possibly a historic one.
Since Cooper is the next top-tier wide receiver in line to get paid, he stands the chance to be the first $100 million man at his position group. Entering the 2020 offseason, only two wide receivers have inked deals over $90 million.
Odell Beckham Jr. signed a five-year, $90 million deal when he was with the New York Giants in 2018. Michael Thomas signed a five-year deal worth $96.25 million in 2019.
Julio Jones makes $22 million annually on his deal, most in the NFL. If Cooper nets a four or five-year deal in the $20-25 million range, he’ll break $100 million.
Is Cooper equal to that trio of receivers? Probably not. He’s arguably a level below them on the wide receiver pecking order. However, anybody is worth what someone is willing to pay them. It doesn’t matter if it is the Cowboys, somebody is going to pay Cooper a boat load of cash, possibly in excess of the nine-figure threshold.
Within the next year or so, somebody will bust through that payment benchmark from the wide receiver position. If Cooper is tagged by the Cowboys, then it unfortunately will not be him. He may one day get a $100 million contract, but he won’t be the first wide receiver to do it.
A.J. Green might be the guy because he too is hitting free agency. However, he didn’t play at all last season due to injury and the Cincinnati Bengals are notoriously cheap. If the Bengals are the team to pay a wide receiver over $100 million first, that would be news to the world.
As for the Cowboys, this is so in their wheelhouse it would almost be shocking for it not to happen.