NFL insider: Franchise wants Terry McLaurin to be a 'Commander for life' amid contract dispute

Terry McLaurin was not present during the Washington Commanders’ mandatory minicamp last week. Heading into the final year of his contract, the star wide receiver is looking to sign a new deal before he gets back onto the field.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler explained the latest on McLaurin’s contract dispute during an appearance on SportsCenter on Saturday morning. He does not expect the solution to come cheap for Washington.

“He skipped mini camp, and he’s been unhappy with his contract situation,” Fowler said. “I talked to somebody with the team who said, ‘Look, we want McLaurin to be a Commander for life.’ It’s just been a probably a little slower than everyone expected.

“These are hard deals to do. That receiver market is well above $30 million per year. He’s a star receiver, so they’ve got five-or-six weeks before camp to try to shake that out, and then we’ll see what happens.”

McLaurin’s $15.5 million base salary for the 2025 season is about half of what the top WRs in the market are worth. Currently in his final year of a three-year, $68.4 million contract, the former Ohio State wideout is due for a major raise.

The Commanders WR’s holdout will be costly for McLaurin, and fast. He’s expected to be fined $17,462 for missing day one of mini camp, $34,925 for day two, and $52,381 for day three.

“Sometimes football and business, they intersect and this is one of those times,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said on the matter, via ESPN. “Terry is a fantastic teammate and really puts in the work and spent a lot of time with them already this offseason.”

McLaurin’s holdout comes after he put up career-high touchdown numbers in Washington in 2024. He scored 13 touchdowns — six more than any other season in his career — by hauling in 82 receptions for 1,096 yards. 2024 was his fifth straight 1,000-yard season with the Commanders, and his sixth overall in the league.

His jump in production is timed with the arrival of star quarterback Jayden Daniels, who helped lead the team to a conference championship game in his rookie season. His presence is expected to have Washington in contention within the NFC for years to come. However, with just over a month to go before players report to Commanders training camp, time is ticking for Washington to sign him before the start of the regular season.