One of the top remaining franchise tag candidates has signed an big-money contract. The Chargers have inked Mike Williams to a three-year, $60MM deal, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). $40MM of the total is fully guaranteed. 
The Chargers had made it clear they were willing to tag Williams, though a long-term deal was always the preference. The 27-year-old played out last season on the fifth-year option, which earned him $15.7MM. Given his play during the campaign, it became clear a significant raise would be coming.
Williams posted 76 catches and 1,147 yards – both career highs. He also registered nine touchdowns, the second-highest total of his NFL tenure. Alongside Keenan Allen, he played a major role in the Chargers ranking second in the league in passing yards, while finishing top-five in scoring. This deal means that both Williams and Allen will next become free agents in 2025.
The $20MM per-year average is almost exactly what the franchise tag ($19.1MM) would’ve cost the Chargers in 2022 anyway, though Schefter notes that the first year of the deal includes $28MM. Unlike so many other teams, cap space was hardly an issue for Los Angeles; they entered the day with more than $56MM to work with for the upcoming season. This deal obviously takes a large bite out of that, but the medium-term pact should provide solid value for the team.
The main pieces to the Chargers’ passing attack will remain in place, something which is likely a necessity to compete in the AFC West. In a division already featuring Patrick Mahomes – and that just saw the arrival of Russell Wilson – points will need to be scored early and often to keep up.
At least they didn’t make it a 5 year deal with some of his injuries. The tag was about the same for year 1, so think this was decent for both sides.
Seems rich for his track record. $13 million more guaranteed than Corey Davis when they could have kept him on the tag. I can’t blame them for wanting to keep him and Herbert together, but his past would make me nervous.
Big fan of this signing, I like it even more that so much of it is paid out in the first year. There’s still a good amount of money available even before any releases or restructures.
I have always been a fan of him. Glad to see he got his payday with the Chargers. Let the Herbert to Williams connection keep growing.
Like the length. Dollar amount seems high for someone who most likely isn’t ever going to be a number 1.