Even if you don’t play fantasy football, you’ve heard the term “contract year.” Football fans love a good narrative. While it’s not necessarily true that the potential for a new contract motivates players to play better, a little added incentive never hurt anyone.
We’ve gone through all 32 teams to pinpoint the best fantasy player in a contract year on each of them.
Who is the Best Fantasy Player in a Contract Year on Each Team in 2024?
Arizona Cardinals: RB James Conner
James Conner joined the Cardinals in 2021 following a successful stint with the Steelers. For the past three years, he’s been the starting running back in Arizona.
Conner signed a three-year extension ahead of the 2022 season, which expires at the end of this season.
Coming off three straight seasons averaging between 15.4 and 17.2 fantasy points per game, Conner hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. In light of the Cardinals drafting his presumptive heir, Trey Benson, in the third round this year, Conner will be as motivated as ever to prove he’s still got it and deserves another lucrative deal, even as he turns 30 years old in 2025.
Atlanta Falcons: N/A
Factoring in something like a little extra financial incentive to a player’s fantasy value means that the player has to have fantasy value to begin with.
Khadarel Hodge and Averey Williams are the Falcons in the final year of their contracts. For context, I recently did a 30-round dynasty startup, and neither of these players was drafted. There is nothing actionable here for fantasy.
Baltimore Ravens: WR Nelson Agholor
The Ravens have pretty good contract situations with their offensive skill position players. They don’t have a single relevant fantasy player facing free agency in 2025. The closest thing is Nelson Agholor.
You won’t see Agholor selected in any fantasy league. Even in the deepest of leagues, Agholor is not someone being drafted. The only reason he’s worth mentioning is because he’s at least had a couple of moments over the past two seasons.
Agholor had 18.5 and 23.0-point games in 2022 and a 17.3-point effort in 2023. Perhaps, in deeper leagues, if you were very fortunate, he was streamable those specific weeks.
Buffalo Bills: RB Ty Johnson
None of the Bills’ key offensive weapons are staring down the barrel of free agency in 2025. The most relevant player for fantasy purposes is Ty Johnson.
You won’t see Johnson selected even in deep redraft leagues. However, he has been fantasy relevant in the past. When Johnson returns from his injury, he should be active on game day. There’s a chance he plays ahead of Ray Davis, serving as the RB2 behind starter James Cook.
If Cook were to go down, Johnson’s name would pop up in deep leave waiver wire columns. His contract status has no bearing on his fantasy value, but he’s at least a name to keep filed away.
Carolina Panthers: WR Diontae Johnson
At the conclusion of his rookie deal, Diontae Johnson wanted a long-term extension. He had to settle for a two-year deal with the Steelers. The second of those two years is 2024.
Johnson was traded to the Panthers earlier this year. He has not yet received an extension. Unless something changes, he will play out the final year of his contract.
I am very high on Johnson this season. I would be lying if I said his contract had anything to do with it. However, it certainly isn’t a bad thing that Johnson has another reason to try and rack up the receptions this year.
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We’ve seen Johnson produce a WR1 season in the past. He’s one of the best route runners in the NFL. Bryce Young needs to make a sophomore-year leap, but that is not exactly a crazy projection for last year’s No. 1 overall pick.
Johnson’s target competition consists of a rookie and 34-year-old Adam Thielen. Contract or no contract, Johnson is poised for heavy volume in 2024.
Chicago Bears: WR Keenan Allen
At 32 years old, Keenan Allen has made plenty of money throughout his career. He knows his worth and is unlikely to be extra motivated by a contract year. However, perhaps he would be more inclined to play out a season in which his team is out of playoff contention.
Last year, Allen missed the final four games of the season with a mysterious “heel issue.” I highly suspect it was something he could’ve played through had there been any reason to.
The Bears project to be in playoff contention this season. So, that situation is unlikely to arise once again. Even at his advanced age, Allen hasn’t shown any signs of decline. He will open the season playing in two-receiver sets, but there is a chance he gets pushed aside over the second half as Rome Odunze ascends. Allen is a risky selection in 2024 fantasy drafts.
Cincinnati Bengals: WR Tee Higgins
The Bengals have one of the most prominent contract-year players. Tee Higgins initially threatened a holdout after the team slapped him with the franchise tag. Ultimately, he signed his one-year deal and reported to the team.
Higgins will play out the year with the hopes of earning a long-term deal in 2025. I firmly believe every player tries his hardest no matter what, but the extra incentive to prove to the Bengals that they should’ve extended him sooner doesn’t hurt.
Higgins has battled injury for much of the past two seasons. Combined with the Bengals having a disappointing 2023 due to, in large part, Joe Burrow’s injuries, Higgins has become somewhat of an afterthought in fantasy drafts. He is one of my favorite players to target in the fourth or fifth round.
Cleveland Browns: WR Amari Cooper
This easily could’ve been Nick Chubb as well. Since Chubb is set to miss the start of the season due to his knee injury, Amari Cooper becomes the clear top option on the Browns heading into a contract year.
At 30 years old, Cooper hasn’t shown any signs of decline. He will be 31 next season. That makes his next deal almost certainly his final contract of any substance.
I’ve been high on Cooper all summer. A perennial WR2, Cooper has been undervalued for most of his career. That looks to be the case once again. He’s probably not about to post his first career WR1 season, but if he can provide fantasy managers with a mid-to-high WR2 season, that would be just fine based on where he is being drafted.
Dallas Cowboys: WR CeeDee Lamb
Easily the highest profile player in a contract year is CeeDee Lamb. It is very rare for an elite wide receiver to play out the final year of his rookie contract.
Lamb wanted an extension before last season. He was willing to play out the year. Naturally, the Cowboys had previously picked up Lamb’s fifth-year option. Being well aware that a franchise tag designation is likely in his future, Lamb does not want to get paid on a year-to-year basis.
It is entirely likely that by the time you are reading this, Lamb has gotten his extension. There is absolutely no doubt in mind that Jerry Jones will cave before the season starts.
Lamb is the best wide receiver in fantasy. He finished as the overall WR1 last season. He’s the clear top option in one of the league’s best offenses with minimal target competition. It is fair to say we’ve never seen a more perfect confluence of situation, opportunity, and talent than Lamb heading into 2024. He is deserving of being the first wide receiver off the board.
Denver Broncos: RB Javonte Williams
Typically, a running back like Javonte Williams would be extended by this point. Unfortunately, Williams tore his ACL in Week 4 of his sophomore season. He played 16 games in his third season but was woefully inefficient, likely due to not being 100% yet.
Williams is now heading into his fourth season and the final year of his rookie contract. Whether the Broncos intend to keep him is immaterial — Williams knows he has to perform this year if he wants a second contract from anyone.
The Broncos got surprisingly good play out of 2023 UDFA Jaleel McLaughlin. They also drafted bruiser Audric Estimé earlier this year. Williams needs to prove he is the clear top option and worthy of a long-term deal.
Detroit Lions: N/A
The core of the Lions offense is Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, and David Montgomery. Gibbs and LaPorta are sophomores. Montgomery is signed through 2025. And Goff just got his extension.
The closest players to fantasy relevance in contract years are Craig Reynolds and Donovan Peoples-Jones. Neither of these players is being selected in even the deepest of fantasy leagues.
Green Bay Packers: RB AJ Dillon
I’ve been a fan of AJ Dillon far longer than I care to admit. He was so good as a rookie in limited action, averaging 5.3 yards per carry! Unfortunately, that would end up being the height of his NFL ability.
Dillon’s efficiency and overall performance have declined every year since. Last season was so disappointing that Dillon couldn’t find a team willing to give him the offer he was looking for. As a result, he returned to the Packers on a one-year deal.
Dillon will see the field this season. When he does, he will have all the motivation in the world to prove he’s deserving of being a relevant piece of a backfield. While he’s not necessarily someone worth drafting, an injury to Josh Jacobs or MarShawn Lloyd, who is currently dealing with a hamstring strain, would immediately put Dillon back on the fantasy radar.
Houston Texans: WR Stefon Diggs
I have been very vocal about my disinterest in Stefon Diggs for fantasy this season. But there’s no denying he is, by far, the best fantasy asset on the Texans in a contract year.
Diggs notoriously completely faded over the second half of the season for a second consecutive year. He has since gone from being the clear alpha in Buffalo to the third-best receiver on the Texans.
Nevertheless, at 30 years old, if Diggs wants one final big payday, he will need to prove that those final two months of 2023 is not who he is.
Indianapolis Colts: TE Mo Alie-Cox
This probably should’ve been another “N/A.” Mo Alie-Cox has quite literally never been fantasy-relevant. He’s played 91 regular season games. He’s caught more than two passes in exactly 10 of them, with nearly all of them coming in 2020.
Alie-Cox is entering the final year of his contract. Someone will probably sign him next season to be a TE2 or TE3. He’s a nice depth piece/situational end zone target. Nothing more.
Jacksonville Jaguars: RB D’Ernest Johnson
It would be a stretch to say D’Ernest Johnson matters in fantasy. But at least he’s mattered in the past, filling in for Nick Chubb for a couple of games in Cleveland.
Last season, Johnson opened the season as the Jaguars RB3 before overtaking Tank Bigsby for the RB2 role. This year, it looks as though a much-improved Bigsby has pushed Johnson back into the RB3 role.
Johnson will not be drafted in any fantasy leagues. It would take injuries to both Bigsby and Travis Etienne Jr. for Johnson to pop up on the fantasy radar.
Kansas City Chiefs: WR Hollywood Brown
Hollywood Brown is both on the first and last year of his contract. The Chiefs gave him a one-year deal this offseason in their effort to bolster a WR corps that was amongst the worst in the NFL last season.
Brown’s Chiefs tenure is off to a rough start with the diminutive WR set to miss the start of the season due to an SC joint injury he sustained in the team’s first preseason game. When Brown does get back on the field, he will look to prove he deserves a multi-year deal in 2025.
Las Vegas Raiders: RB Alexander Mattison
After squandering his chance as the Vikings lead back last season, Alexander Mattison was forced to settle for a one-year deal to backup Zamir White in Las Vegas.
Mattison was best known for being a one-to-one Dalvin Cook replacement in Minnesota, putting up RB1 numbers whenever Cook was out. Unfortunately, Mattison was unable to produce anywhere near the same level in the starter role last season, averaging a paltry 8.3 fantasy points per game.
At 26 years old, there’s still time for Mattison to turn his career back around. As White’s primary backup, he should see the field for at least 30% of the snaps every game. A good showing could earn Mattison a job as part of a timeshare in 2025.
Los Angeles Chargers: WR Joshua Palmer
For the past two seasons, Joshua Palmer opened the season as the Chargers WR4. By the end of each season, he was either their WR1 or WR2. Now, Palmer enters the 2024 season as the WR1 and most veteran receiver on the team.
Palmer could not ask for a better situation to prove he deserves a lucrative second contract. Far from an elite player, Palmer has consistently outperformed his athleticism. He’s been a reliable set of hands and even someone worth starting in fantasy as a WR3 for stretches.
Los Angeles Rams: WR Demarcus Robinson
The 30-year-old WR has never averaged more than 6.7 fantasy points per game. Yet, he was a borderline league-winner last season, posting games of 15.5, 13.6, 14.7, 20.2, and 13.2 from Weeks 13-17.
Demarcus Robinson is best known for being that random guy who occasionally caught a touchdown from Patrick Mahomes. After leaving the Chiefs, he latched on with the Rams and really revived his career at a late age.
No matter what Robinson does this season, it will be difficult to wash off a decade of irrelevance/mediocrity. But he’s locked into the Rams WR3 role. If last year was any indication, Robinson could have value as a WR4 in fantasy.
Miami Dolphins: WR Odell Beckham Jr.
The Dolphins have a very consolidated offense for fantasy purposes. Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, De’Von Achane, and Raheem Mostert as the impact guys. No one else really matters.
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Late-career Odell Beckham Jr. has struggled to stay on the field and make a difference. He does project to be the Dolphins WR3, but at 32 years old, he just doesn’t have much left to offer.
We’ve seen far worse WRs hang around the league into their mid-30s based on name recognition. However, given how guys like Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry are unable to land jobs right now, another injury-riddled disappointing year might be it for one of the most talented WRs this century.
Minnesota Vikings: RB Aaron Jones
After being released by the Packers, Aaron Jones signed a one-year deal with the Vikings. Entering his age 30 season, Jones is probably past the point of his career where he can even earn multi-year deals. At best, his next contract might be for two years, but that’s pretty risky for an NFL team to give to a 30-year-old.
The concern with Jones is not his talent — he closed out last season with five straight 100-yard rushing efforts. He’s still got it. The issue is whether his body can continue playing football week after week. We will find out this season.
New England Patriots: QB Jacoby Brissett
The Patriots don’t have many enticing fantasy options. This offense doesn’t project to be one fantasy managers want to invest in.
Jacoby Brissett was signed to a one-year deal to be a bridge to Drake Maye. Brissett will open the season as the starter before inevitably ceding the role to the rookie.
Brissett is only fantasy-relevant in Superflex leagues. But by the time you need to start him, Maye will probably have taken over anyway.
New Orleans Saints: TE Juwan Johnson
This may end up being Alvin Kamara’s last year on the Saints, but he is not quite in a contract year. That leaves us with Juwan Johnson as the only potentially fantasy-relevant player on the Saints entering the final year of his contract.
Johnson has done well for himself to emerge from UDFA to starting TE. Unfortunately, he’s been injured for all of training camp.
At his best, Johnson is a touchdown-or-bust TE2. It’s possible that after he returns, he will find himself on the tight-end streaming radar during the season.
New York Giants: WR Darius Slayton
Every year, the Giants look to upgrade their WR corps. Every year, at some point, Darius Slayton ends up on the fantasy radar.
Slayton has never exactly been a desirable asset, nor has he been someone fantasy managers actively want to start. But as the season progresses, guys get hurt, and Slayton is out there playing 80% of the snaps on a depleted Giants roster.
New York Jets: WR Mike Williams
Given his age and injury history, Mike Williams was forced to sign a one-year deal with the Jets. Essentially, this is his “prove it” season.
Williams is 29 years old coming off a torn ACL — far from his first major injury. By all accounts, he should be ready for Week 1 and is set to be the Jets WR2 opposite Garrett Wilson.
Largely an afterthought in fantasy, Williams was actually quite good in the three games he played last season, averaging 16.7 fantasy points per game. There is a chance he can still be good. And at his price, he doesn’t need to even get close to the guy he was with the Chargers to return fantasy value.
Philadelphia Eagles: RB Kenneth Gainwell
The Eagles have all of their key fantasy assets locked up beyond this year. However, Kenneth Gainwell remains in the final year of his rookie deal.
The Eagles drafted Will Shipley, but it does appear as though Gainwell remains the RB2. He has no standalone fantasy value but will serve as a handcuff to Saquon Barkley.
If Barkley missed time, this backfield would likely be a committee, but Gainwell would certainly be a part of it. He’s not necessarily worth drafting, but he’s a name to monitor just in case his name gets called at some point during the season.
Pittsburgh Steelers: RB Najee Harris
The Steelers actually have a few guys entering the final year of their contracts. Both of their quarterbacks are on one-year deals, and Pat Freiermuth will hit free agency in 2025.
Najee Harris could’ve been locked up until 2026, but the Steelers chose not to exercise his fifth-year option. As a result, Harris is playing for his next contract this year.
Mired in a timeshare with the more talented Jaylen Warren, Harris might actually be undervalued this season, as he is poised for the goal line role and heavy early down work in an Arthur Smith run-heavy scheme.
San Francisco 49ers: WR Brandon Aiyuk
The ongoing saga of whether will or won’t trade Brandon Aiyuk persists. It is almost certain that Aiyuk will not be in a contract year by the time the season starts — perhaps even by the time you’re reading this. But right now, Aiyuk remains in the final year of his rookie deal.
The 49ers’ WR1 was one of the most efficient wide receivers in the NFL last season, averaging an incredible 3.18 yards per route run. He will remain Brock Purdy’s top option in the passing game if he returns to the team. However, in all likelihood, it will be with an extension.
Seattle Seahawks: N/A
Even if we expand our horizons to the most extreme limits of fantasy relevance, the Seahawks still don’t have anyone who qualifies. All of their top guys are locked up beyond 2025. The contingent options that could only end up relevant due to multiple injuries are also under contract.
Guys like Dee Eskridge and Laviska Shenault are free agents in 2025. That is the extent of it.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: WR Chris Godwin
Coming off a down year, Chris Godwin should already be motivated to bounce back. The fact that he’s playing for what will likely be his last big contract certainly doesn’t hurt.
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Godwin only averaged 12.3 fantasy points per game last season, his worst year since 2018. The gap between him and Mike Evans was as large as ever.
With a move back to the slot this season, Godwin should narrow that gap. He is one of the more undervalued players in fantasy drafts.
Tennessee Titans: WR DeAndre Hopkins
At 32 years old, this is probably it for DeAndre Hopkins. Very, very few wide receivers remain effective at age 33 or beyond. Even so, Hopkins could perform well enough this season to earn him a 1-2 year deal next year.
Starting out the season with a knee sprain is less than ideal. But if Hopkins can get back on the field within the first couple of weeks, he can quickly make fantasy managers and NFL general managers forget about the slow start.
Washington Commanders: TE Zach Ertz
The Commanders signed Zach Ertz to a one-year deal this offseason. At 34 years old, Ertz is nowhere near as good as he was during his prime. Clearly, he still wants to play football, though.
Given his struggles with injury and underwhelming on-field performance, this might be his last chance to prove he can still be an effective NFL tight end.
Ertz is not going to be exciting in fantasy, but it would not be a total surprise if he emerged as a boring but safe 4-30 guy who won’t get you zero. You don’t need to select him in fantasy drafts, but he may be a desperation streamer during the season.