As the Miami Dolphins are working through contract talks with their franchise quarterback this offseason, they completed their business with their young, rising wide receiver.

The Dolphins and standout receiver Jaylen Waddle agreed to a three-year contract extension, according to a league source today.

The deal is reportedly for $84.75 million and includes $76 million guaranteed, according to ESPN and NFL Network. Waddle was already under contract through 2025 before the extension and now is locked in with the franchise through 2028.

“We want him here for a long time, and we think he’s a big part of our now and our future here,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said of Waddle months ago at the NFL scouting combine. “He’s a great person on and off the field, and we still think as good as he is, he still has runway to keep getting better.”

With an average annual value of $28.25 million for the extension, that figure puts Waddle fourth in the NFL for receivers, behind teammate Tyreek Hill ($30 million), the Detroit Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown ($30.002 million) and Philadelphia Eagles’ A.J. Brown ($32 million). His total guarantees now rank third in the league after Brown and St. Brown.

Waddle, a 2021 first-round draft pick, has his contract extension done before quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract after he was drafted in 2020.

Earlier this offseason, though, Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith, also a first-rounder in the 2021 draft, got his three-year extension with Philadelphia. It put Waddle’s long-term status in Miami into focus. Smith’s deal was for $75 million and a hair under $70 million of it guaranteed, so Waddle’s deal surpassed his former Alabama teammate.

Waddle’s deal is also worth more than that of Las Vegas Raiders star wideout Davante Adams in average salary, but Adams has the largest total value of his contract, at $140 million.

With the salary cap continuing to rise astronomically, elite young receivers have new going rates. The Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Dallas Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb and Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase, among others, are all expected to make about as much or more than Waddle.

Waddle has 251 receptions for 3,385 yards and 18 touchdowns in his first three NFL seasons. He has not yet made a Pro Bowl.

The 25-year-old wide receiver recorded his third consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season in 2023, becoming the first Dolphins player to do so. He holds the franchise record for most receiving yards in the first three years of a career and set Miami’s rookie records for receptions (104) and receiving yards (1,015) in 2021.

With the Dolphins off today before wrapping up organized team activities with a closed practice Friday, players reacted to the news on social media this morning.

Hill posted on X: “Couldn’t be more happier.”

Star cornerback Jalen Ramsey wrote: “YEAHHHHH DUB! Get that munyun! BIG YEAR loading!”

Waddle has not been seen with the team during the two OTA sessions open to the media.

With Waddle’s deal secured, Tagovailoa’s contract comes into greater focus now as it has been a priority since the start of the offseason. The Dolphins have expressed a willingness to keep their quarterback in Miami long term, and an extension is expected to go for upwards or near $50 million per year.

Along with Tagovailoa, safety Jevon Holland is also among Dolphins players eligible for an extension this offseason. He, however, said last week he does not expect to get a deal done before Miami’s quarterback.

Like Waddle before today’s deal, outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips, the team’s other first-round selection in 2021, had his fifth-year option exercised by the Dolphins earlier this offseason. Phillips is rehabbing a torn Achilles this offseason.

Next week, the Dolphins have a three-day mandatory minicamp Tuesday through Thursday before they’re off until training camp begins in late July.