Terry McLaurin’s contract stalemate with the Washington Commanders has lasted for months, with the sides seemingly no closer to an agreement and the Sept. 7 season opener looming.
The dispute has become increasingly tense, with McLaurin airing his grievances during a lengthy news conference before training camp and later requesting a trade. His absence, along with fellow receiver Noah Brown’s injury, has left Jayden Daniels and the Commanders’ offense in somewhat of a holding pattern, unable to know what they are just yet.
As the impasse continues, with McLaurin absent from the team’s second preseason game on Monday, more questions have arisen.
How did we get here?
McLaurin, a third-round pick in 2019, has been a face of the franchise for much of his time in Washington, often serving as a voice of the team when former ownership declined to talk about off-field controversies that had nothing to do with the players. He’s had five consecutive seasons of 1,000-plus receiving yards, has played with 11 starting quarterbacks over his career and hasn’t missed a game in four seasons.
The Commanders awarded him a three-year extension worth around $70 million in 2022, a year before his rookie deal was set to expire, indicating his value to the team. Talks in that offseason became difficult, however, and McLaurin opted to skip part of OTAs and mandatory minicamp before reaching an agreement about a month before training camp. McLaurin went on to earn his first Pro Bowl selection that season.
Contract talks started similarly this time around. McLaurin felt his pay, which, at $22.79 million in average value, ranks 18th among receivers, wasn’t in line with his value to the team or with the exploding wide receiver market. He decided to seek a new deal.
Preliminary discussions with the Commanders made it clear that both sides wanted to get a deal done, but they were far apart from the outset and still haven’t bridged the gap.
As often happens in contract negotiations, the longer the impasse, the more it seems to become personal for one side. McLaurin told reporters last month he was “pretty frustrated.” General manager Adam Peters, meanwhile, has sparingly addressed McLaurin’s contract situation publicly, saying only that the team wants to reach an agreement.
What is McLaurin asking for in a contract extension?
McLaurin believes he’s one of the best receivers in the NFL. He’s been the Commanders’ leading receiver every season since he entered the league, and last year had the second-most receiving TDs in the league behind Ja’Marr Chase’s 17. He also ranked third in EPA on targets and seventh in catch rate among receivers with at least 100 targets last year, but among that same group, McLaurin’s total receiving yards (1,096) ranked 12th and his average yards after the catch ranked 25th.
The top receivers in pay are earning at least $30 million a year. There are now nine of them at that level.
One person with knowledge of McLaurin’s contract negotiations said the veteran receiver has asked for more than DK Metcalf, who signed a four-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this year.
If McLaurin is seeking more than Metcalf’s $33 million a year in average annual value, that would put him in the top four among receivers. If he seeks more than the $60 million Metcalf is guaranteed, that would land him in the top 10 receivers among guaranteed money. If McLaurin is using Metcalf’s deal as a benchmark based on percentage of the team’s cap, the Commanders’ wideout would be asking for more than 11.8 percent of Washington’s cap in average annual value, which would be at least the fifth-highest percentage among receivers, according to Spotrac.
In his 30-minute session with reporters a week before camp, McLaurin shared his frustrations but said he wanted to stay in Washington.
Canvassing the league’s decision makers, it’s hard to find anyone believing Terry McLaurin will get the number he and his camp are asking for from Washington in a new deal.
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— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) August 19, 2025
What is the team’s stance?
The Commanders don’t want to mortgage the future to pay one player, but they have some cap room before they’ll have to pay Daniels a hefty contract.
McLaurin’s age is the biggest sticking point. He will turn 30 on Sept. 15, which means the first year of an extension will be when he’s 31. Production and health typically decline for receivers in their 30s, and while McLaurin and Metcalf have statistical similarities and both entered the league in 2019, the latter is more than two years younger.
Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos’ Courtland Sutton, who is around the same age as McLaurin and also has some statistical similarities, recently signed for $23 million a year.
The Commanders would likely tack on a premium based on McLaurin’s off-field value, but when factoring in his age and the other impending contracts they’ll soon have to pay, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team has set a maximum range of $27 million to $28 million a year in average annual value for McLaurin.
Will McLaurin’s activation off the PUP list move things along?
We’ll see. All it means for now is he passed his physical and was medically cleared by the team to begin his ramp-up for the season. That leaves him and the Commanders’ offense less than three weeks to reconnect before the season opener.
It seems unlikely that McLaurin would sit out games if a deal isn’t done by the start of the season. He would lose a paycheck for every game he misses, and could be subject to additional fines at the team’s discretion.
What comes next?
Either McLaurin and the team find a way to bridge the cap before Sept. 7, or McLaurin will likely face a difficult decision in the coming days: accept whatever offer is on the table from the Commanders, or play out his current deal and become a free agent in March. Taking the latter route would be a gamble; another big season could put him up for a somewhat significant payday. His age might always be a sticking point, though. Would another team offer him more in 2026, when he would be set to turn 31, than the Commanders are offering now? It’s an open question.
(Photo: Geoff Burke / Imagn Images)
