CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NFL football is back, and the price to get some of your favorite stars to suit up has been skyrocketing.
For years, quarterbacks had been far and away the highest paid players on the team. Now, receivers are catching up, and it could mark the beginning of a big change for the league. Let's connect the dots.
At the beginning of the offseason, Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson set the tone by saying he wouldn’t practice until he got a big new deal. Eventually, the NFL reported he was given a record breaking $140 million, four-year deal and returned to team.
In the Carolinas, new signing Diontae Johnson is the third highest paid player on the team in just his first year with the Carolina Panthers, according to Over the Cap. He's just one of a dozen receivers who inked massive deals in the offseason, with their combined contracts totaling more than $1 billion.
Some fans and teams are concerned more receivers and other skills players will follow suit, sitting out practice and games until they get bigger deals.
An NFL team’s salary works a lot like a pie., and if one player takes too much of the pie, it will mean there isn’t enough money to pay others -- which could lead to a free agent frenzy next season.