The Arizona Cardinals locked up wide receiver Michael Wilson with a three-year contract extension worth up to $78 million, a bet on a 26-year-old who broke out last season, coming just days before the team's Week 1 opener.

The deal, worth $75 million in base value with $47 million guaranteed, keeps Wilson under Cardinals control through 2029, according to ESPN, which first reported the agreement Thursday via NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter. The Cardinals confirmed the extension the same day.

Paying for a breakout year

Wilson, a third-round pick out of Stanford in 2023, was entering the final year of his rookie contract before the extension. He broke out in 2025, posting career highs across the board: 78 catches, 1,006 receiving yards — his first 1,000-yard season — seven touchdowns and 126 targets, according to figures cited by the NFL's official site. His role grew dramatically as the season went on: his target share jumped from just 11% over the first five weeks to 23.2% the rest of the way.

$47 MILLION GUARANTEED, LOCKED IN DAYS BEFORE KICKOFF

The extension slots Wilson alongside Marvin Harrison Jr. and Kendrick Bourne atop Arizona's receiver depth chart heading into the 2026 season, giving quarterback Kyler Murray a trio of proven targets. The team's official site called the move a reflection of Wilson's steady development since entering the league.

The timing is notable: the deal comes right after final roster cutdowns across the NFL and just days before Arizona opens its season on September 9. Locking in a receiver's price before a potential monster season — rather than waiting and risking a much larger market rate — has become a common front-office strategy, and the Cardinals' bet is that Wilson's 2025 breakout was the start of a trend rather than a one-year outlier.

Wilson's ascent has been especially notable given the crowded receiver room he came up through; as recently as 2024 he was viewed as a depth piece behind more heralded names. His extension is the latest sign the Cardinals' young core, built around Murray and a wave of recent draft picks, is being retained rather than let walk in free agency — a departure from the roster churn that marked the franchise's rebuilding years.

The move also reflects how the Cardinals' offensive identity has shifted heading into 2026. With Harrison Jr. drawing the bulk of opposing defenses' top coverage, Wilson thrived as a reliable underneath and intermediate option — the kind of high-floor production teams increasingly prize when negotiating a receiver's second contract, rather than betting on the open market a year from now.

Locking in Wilson before Week 1 also removes one more variable for Murray heading into the season opener on September 9. Whatever the Cardinals' record looks like a few months from now, the front office has ensured its breakout 2025 playmaker won't be a free-agency storyline anytime soon.