The Green Bay Packers and wide receiver Christian Watson have agreed to a contract extension, a league source confirmed to The Athletic. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported on Thursday that it’s a four-year, $110.5 million deal with a $31 million signing bonus.
Watson, a 2022 second-round pick, was entering a contract year after signing a one-year, $11 million extension last year before he’d even returned from a torn ACL. He suffered that injury in Week 18 of the 2024 season against the Chicago Bears and inked a short-term extension to give himself financial security coming off a major injury in his first contract year.
Watson returned in Week 8 last season, and he caught 35 passes for 611 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games. During that span, he ranked 14th among wide receivers in receiving yards, second in yards per catch (17.5) and tied for fifth in touchdown catches while dropping one pass on 55 targets, according to TruMedia.
“Obviously, there was a security of coming back and things not going as well as they did, but obviously things went well, so just take it as it is,” Watson said Wednesday when asked if he regretted the short-term extension after playing well upon his return last season. “But I mean, I definitely want to be here long term, so hopefully we can work something out long term.”
In four years with the Packers, he has 133 catches, 2,264 receiving yards and 20 touchdown catches in 48 games.
Watson has been plagued by injuries throughout his career and has never even played 16 games in a season, but he has proven worthy of this extension when healthy. His top-end speed, deep-ball ability, proficiency at multiple receiver positions and improved hands have made him the closest thing the Packers have to a true No. 1 wide receiver. Watson has averaged 17 yards per reception since entering the NFL in 2022. He doesn’t qualify for the league leaderboard in that category on TruMedia, but only one player on that list (Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce) has more yards per catch over the last four seasons.
Watson, who recently turned 27, is the second Packers receiver to sign a long-term extension this offseason. The team also signed Jayden Reed to a three-year, $50.25 million extension, and now Watson and Reed will headline Green Bay’s receiver room for the immediate and foreseeable future, alongside 2025 first-round pick Matthew Golden.
According to Over The Cap, the average annual salary of $27.625 million on Watson’s extension places him 15th among wide receivers.
