The Panthers are still searching for a new quarterback, but in the meantime, they’ve secured one of their top pass catchers, announcing Friday a new four-year contract for star wide receiver D.J. Moore. The former first-round draft pick was entering the final year of his rookie deal, set to play 2022 under the fifth-year option. Now, thanks to a three-year extension worth more than $61 million, according to ESPN and NFL Media, Moore is tied to Carolina through 2025.
Moore, 24, will get $61.884 million in new money as part of the deal, the receiver’s Rosenhaus Sports representatives told ESPN, paying an average of $20.6 million per year from 2023-25. In total, including his 2022 fifth-year option, he’ll be under contract with the Panthers for the next four seasons, costing $73 million, or an average of $18.25 million per year. That average annual payout makes him the eighth-highest paid receiver in the NFL, ahead of the Chiefs‘ Tyreek Hill ($18M), the Giants‘ Kenny Golladay ($18M) and new Jaguars wideout Christian Kirk ($18M).
Drafted 24th overall out of Maryland in 2018, Moore has quietly starred as one of the steadiest receivers in the game. Active for all but two games in his four-year career, he’s logged three straight 1,000-yard seasons and counting. Fresh off a career-high 93 catches on 163 targets, finishing 2021 with 1,157 yards and four touchdowns, he already ranks fourth in franchise history in terms of career receiving yards (4,313), behind only Steve Smith Sr., Muhsin Muhammad and Greg Olsen.
Moore enters 2022 as the Panthers’ top target out wide opposite Robby Anderson and newly signed reserve Rashard Higgins.
