Terry McLaurin contract dispute timeline: How Commanders star's negotiations with Washington led to trade request

Terry McLaurin contract dispute timeline: How Commanders star's negotiations with Washington led to trade request originally appeared on The Sporting News

Football is a business. While teams profit from players, the players themselves want to be compensated fairly for the product they put out on the field. 

Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin is no exception. He is due a new contract after the 2025 season, and he wants to put pen to paper on an extension sooner rather than later. McLaurin also wants to go ahead and ink a long-term deal because he is 29 and not getting any younger. This factor is also why Washington has yet to give him a new contract. 

McLaurin wants to be paid like one of the top receivers in the league because that has been the caliber of his play. The Washington front office wants to financially compensate McLaurin as a very, very good player who is about to enter his 30s and likely begin his career decline. 

With the two sides at an impasse, McLaurin used one of the only available leverage tools at his disposal and began a holdout away from the team. He switched it to a hold-in so he could avoid fines while also continuing to wait for a new contract. McLaurin then put all his cards on the table and requested a trade from the team. His next step is sitting out regular-season games, but he hopes that he and Washington can come to terms on a new deal that works for both parties. 

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Here is more on McLaurin's contract dispute.

Terry McLaurin contract dispute timeline

McLaurin's current contract is his rookie extension. It was a three-year deal worth $68.364 million. It included a $28 million signing bonus with $53.154 million guaranteed. The deal is set to pay him $25.5 million in 2025 if he meets his incentives, but he may have to repay some of that now for missing time during the holdout. 

McLaurin didn't show up for the start of training camp, but that wasn't surprising. His holdout began when he missed mandatory minicamp in June. 

This continued into July when he met with reporters and spoke about his absence and lack of contract. He expressed his frustration. 

Terry McLaurin- I’m pretty frustrated, not going to lie pic.twitter.com/YdCdP9d6Dk

— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) July 15, 2025

When he didn't show up for training camp on July 22, the wide receiver was added to Washington's Reserve/Did Not Report list. McLaurin held out for four days and then officially reported. Still, he is not participating in drills and instead does his own workouts off to the side and is mainly seen in street clothes. 

The wide receiver didn't like the pacing of the negotiations and didn't like the numbers he was hearing. On July 31, he requested a trade from the franchise. While this might sound like he wants out, there are only so many things a player can do for leverage, and requesting a trade is one of them. 

General manager Adam Peters noted this reality ahead of training camp: "You'd like to get these things done quicker, but it doesn't always happen that way. Whatever happens along the way, just understand he's a great player and we want to keep him here." 

Since McLaurin has requested the trade, not much ground has been made up between the two parties. ESPN's Peter Schrager said on Aug. 13 that the situation is "fascinating" because "nothing has changed and they're still a bit apart." 

McLaurin was spotted talking to Adam Peters on August 12 at practice. 

Terry McLaurin and Adam Peters talking on the sideline in Ashburn today 🧐@JPFinlayNBCS#RaiseHail#Commanderspic.twitter.com/9Z4A15FGZs

— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) August 12, 2025

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Will Commanders trade Terry McLaurin?

Washington has no plans to trade McLaurin, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. 

"I checked with Washington, they have no plans to trade Terry McLaurin, they do want him there long term," Fowler reported on Saturday, July 19. "The question is 'are they willing to meet this market that's gotten crazy?'"

McLaurin expressed how he and his wife have established a foundation in the D.C. area, calling it home. He added that "I want to be here. I want to make that abundantly clear," before acknowledging that "it takes two to tango."

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Terry McLaurin contract projection

McLaurin wants to be paid like a top wide receiver in the league. The assumption is that he wants a deal that averages more than $30 million per season. Tee Higgins signed a four-year, $115 million deal with the Bengals this offseason that averaged out to $28.75 million per year, but that was as a WR2 to Ja'Marr Chase. DK Metcalf signed an extension with the Steelers after they acquired him for four years, $132 million, which is $33 million per year. While Metcalf and McLaurin were in the same draft class, McLaurin is two years older than he is. 

Courtland Sutton turns 30 years old in October and inked a four-year, $92 million deal with the Broncos. This averages out to only $23 million per year, shy of what McLaurin is looking for. Based on the age and the fact that Sutton is a WR1 for his team, the deal aligns with what McLaurin should expect to get. McLaurin is a better player and has had better and more consistent results in his career, but the question is whetherthat is enough to get him to the $30 million per year mark. 

Most likely, McLaurin will sign a contract between $26 and $29 million per year.