First and 10: Another WR Gets Paid While Diontae Johnson Waits

Alan Saunders |

Updated: Jun 13, 2022

Pittsburgh Steelers WR Trade Target Cooper Kupp — Cooper Kupp in a game against the Washington Football Team at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland on Oct. 11, 2020. -- All-Pro Reels Photography

In an offseason where it seems that nearly every wide receiver in the NFL has gotten a big pay day, it’s fitting that the player that had the best 2021 season finally cashed in, as the Los Angeles Rams and wide receiver Cooper Kupp agreed to a five-year, $110 million contract extension on Wednesday.

It’s the fourth $100 million or greater contract handed out to a wide receiver this offseason, with Kupp joining Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, A.J. Brown and Amari Cooper as wideouts with nine-figure deals. On an average-per-year basis, the Rams will pay Kupp $22 million per season, the sixth-most in the NFL behind Hill, Adams, DeAndre Hopkins, Brown and Stefon Diggs.

For Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson, still looking for a contract extension this offseason, it’s yet another receiver that has cashed in on a red-hot market. While Johnson’s statistical achievements don’t quite match Kupp’s, they’re not far off, either.

Following Kupp, five more receivers make at least $20 million per year on their current deal, and four more make $18 million or more, and Johnson compares favorably to some of those players like Kenny Golladay and Christian Kirk.

One more big contract probably won’t make a difference in determining Johnson’s worth in an offseason full of them, but it once again proved the point that if the Steelers want to extend their top wide receiver, it’s going to get expensive.

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TODAY’S STEELERS SCHEDULE

The Pittsburgh Steelers will report to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side for day three team’s three-day mandatory minicamp. Saunders, Farabaugh Carter, Ed Thompson.

The team still has one unsigned pick remaining from the 2022 NFL Draft: QB Kenny Pickett. Austin Bechtold