Terry McLaurin deal gives Deebo Samuel a benchmark for contract

The 49ers’ attempts to extend Deebo Samuel likely have some more influence with Commanders wideout Terry McLaurin’s new contract.

The San Francisco 49ers have either been patient with regards to their hopeful contract extension for All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel or have been offset in the wake of his trade request from earlier this offseason.

Perhaps a bit of both.

At any rate, those discussions and any finalization might not come to the surface until just before training camp kicks off for the Niners at the tail end of July, yet that doesn’t mean general manager John Lynch can avoid seeing what the market is looking like.

On Tuesday, Lynch and Co. received another piece of evidence with the Washington Commanders extending their star receiver, Terry McLaurin, to a three-year deal worth up to $71 million with a $28 million signing bonus and $34.6 million guaranteed, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

A number of other big-name wide receivers have already been moved this offseason, subsequently signing new deals, such as the Philadelphia Eagles acquiring former Tennessee Titans wideout A.J. Brown and then inking him to a hefty extension:

Is Samuel next?

Is Terry McLaurin’s contract good news for Deebo Samuel?

McLaurin, who was drafted in the same year as Samuel, albeit in Round 3, is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving campaigns but doesn’t have the All-Pro or Pro Bowl accolades the latter earned in 2021.

Similarly, Samuel has made massive impacts in postseason play, too, with San Francisco making it to the Super Bowl during his rookie season and then the NFC Championship game last February.

From that vantage point, it’s not hard to suggest Samuel should command much more than the $23.7 annual average Washington is dishing out to McLaurin, and the guaranteed money scheduled to go Samuel’s way could be bigger, too.

But how much?

Brown’s four-year, $100 million deal might be more of a benchmark for Samuel to reach, and that could actually benefit the 49ers, too, if they’re able to spread out his signing bonus over that period, as Niners Nation’s Akash Anavarathan suggested above.

However, San Francisco has historically been hesitant to dish out large amounts of guaranteed cash, so it’s not out of the question for Samuel to ask for guarantees that are close to the 76 percent of the total salary McLaurin is scheduled to receive.

Related Story: Bleacher Report says 49ers should have extended Deebo Samuel sooner

It’s probably not too tall a suggestion to say Samuel is much more impactful a weapon than McLaurin, and the former’s camp will surely argue that in discussions from this point onward.

At the same time, McLaurin’s new deal isn’t a bank-breaker and wholly out of the realm of his value, such as the shocking four-year, $72 million contract the Jacksonville Jaguars dished out to wide receiver Christian Kirk in free agency this offseason, namely with Kirk being a No. 2 wideout at best on a modest roster.

Either way, both Samuel and the 49ers have plenty of precedent-setting deals to compare as they get closer to wrapping up what’ll still be a hefty extension.