Davante Adams' Contract is Already a Bargain for the Packers

Davante Adams has found the end zone ten times so far this season, including this score against the Vikings.

One of Ted Thompson’s last major moves as general manager of the Packers was signing Davante Adams to an extension. 11 months ago, Adams agreed to a four-year, $58 million extension in Green Bay.

Almost a year later, the move looks like one of Thompson’s best. As we discussed on the most recent episode of Blue 58, Adams has been absolutely on fire over his last 16 games. He’s currently top ten in the league in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns and is also on pace to threaten some of the Packers’ loftiest receiving records.

And you could argue he’s underpaid for such efforts.

Davante Adams is probably underpaid

Thanks to a well-structured contract, Adams is barely making a dent in the Packers’ financial picture this year. According to Spotrac.com, Adams ranks 9th among NFL wide receivers in average annual salary, 13th in cap hit, and a paltry 32nd in actual cash paid this year. For a guy in the first year of his new extension, that’s pretty astonishing.

The beautiful part of the entire arrangement is that even as Adams’ cap figure goes up (spiking to $16.6 million in 2020 and 2021 after holding steady at $10.6 million next year), he’s likely to remain very affordable when compared to his peers. Free agent signings and extensions for other top receivers (like Odell Beckham Jr.’s earlier this season) will continue to push the top of the market, in turn creating a wider gap between Adams’s deal and the rest of the potentially bloated contracts.

Ted Thompson wasn’t a perfect general manager, but he got quite a few things right. His move to extend Adams was one of them.