Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams runs for the end zone after catching a pass during an NFL game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, at Ford Field in Detroit.(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
The Detroit Lions traded up to obtain Alabama All-American Jameson Williams with the 12th choice in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Through Williams’ two seasons, the Lions got 25 receptions for 395 yards and three touchdowns and four rushing attempts for 69 yards and one touchdown in 18 regular-season games from the wide receiver.
But after Williams scored two touchdowns in the Lions’ 34-31 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game for the 2023 season, he broke out in 2024 with 58 receptions for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns and 11 rushing attempts for 61 yards and one touchdown.
Williams also had a 61-yard touchdown run in the Lions’ 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders in the second round of the NFC playoffs on Jan. 18.
Williams has one season remaining on his four-year, $17.462 million rookie contract. To keep Williams beyond the 2025 season, Detroit has three options available – a new contract before the current one ends, the franchise tag next offseason or its fifth-year option.
Each first-round draft pick’s four-year contract also includes a team option for a fifth season. That option must be exercised before the player’s fourth season. The deadline for teams to use their fifth-year options on the first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft is May 1.
With the NFL’s announcement of a $279.2 million salary cap for 2025 — $23.8 million more than the 2024 season — came the price tags of the fifth-year options for the first-round selections in the 2022 NFL Draft.
If the Lions pick up their option on Williams’ contract, Detroit will guarantee the wide receiver a pay day of $15.493 million for the 2026 season. That’s the average of the third through 25th highest salaries at wide receiver over the past five seasons
Fifth-year options come in four designations, and Williams is in the most inexpensive of the tiers.
