Jackson Wants A New Deal

By Tim McManus and Sheil Kapadia

DeSean Jackson is after a new deal once again.

The 27-year-old wideout signed a five-year contract in the 2012 offseason that was valued at right around $50 million and included a $10 million signing bonus. But the guaranteed money (a cool $18 million) was all contained in the first two seasons. The rest of the contract is basically filled with option years, and they come at a steep price.

“I think my agent Joel Segal has a great plan going into this offseason. I still feel like I’m a top receiver in this league, I’ve been able to do some explosive things, and I really don’t feel like there’s a lot of receivers that are able to bring it to the field,” said Jackson at his locker stall Monday. “I definitely feel something’s deserving, so we’ll see how that plays out and hopefully we can work things out smoothly and not have to worry about anything out of the ordinary. But I definitely feel it’s deserving.”

Jackson earned $6.75 million this season, which is the fifth-highest base salary among receivers in ’13, per spotrac.com. That number jumps to $10.25 million in 2014, and hovers around there for the remainder of the deal. That’s right up there with Larry Fitzgerald‘s salary ($12.75). Roddy White‘s take-home for next season is less than half that number.

But none of the remaining money is guaranteed.

“I just need some security somehow, someway,” said Jackson. “I felt I’ve proven to be a top receiver in this league. Year after year doing what I’m able to do, just help my team be successful and spark energy, that’s what I’m here for.”

Jackson was asked to clarify: Is this simply something that he hopes will happen, or is it  a necessity in his eyes?

“I just feel I’m deserving, bro. I’m never going to try and make it a problem,” said Jackson. “If it happens it happens. That’s what I have an agent for.”

Jackson had a career year in year one under Chip Kelly, posting 82 catches for 1,332 yards with nine touchdowns. He finished ninth in receiving yards and third in catches of 25-plus yards (16).

“This year I went out there, no distractions, and really went out there for my team and had a lot of success,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes.”