GREEN BAY – Greg Jennings made himself a lot of money Wednesday, and he did it in the unlikeliest of places: In Africa, on a humanitarian mission with his wife Nicole.

The Green Bay Packers two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver and his wife are in Tanzania along with his a number of other pro athletes (including friend and fellow NFL wideout Larry Fitzgerald), traveling with a medical group from “Pros for Africa” to fit more than a thousand needy African children with hearing aids. He either didn’t take his iPhone with him or he’s not getting reception in Africa, as an iMessage went undelivered Tuesday evening.

That means Jennings probably hasn’t gotten the news about the massive contracts wide receivers Vincent Jackson, DeSean Jackson, Marques Colston, Pierre Garçon, Robert Meachem and Calvin Johnson inked in the first 36 hours of the new league year.

According to various reports, Vincent Jackson signed a five-year, $55 million deal ($26 million guaranteed) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to leave San Diego; Garçon got a five-year, $42.5 million deal ($20.5 million guaranteed) to leave Indianapolis for Washington; Colston signed a five-year, $40 million (under $20 million guaranteed) to return to New Orleans; DeSean Jackson, who’d been franchise tagged by the Philadelphia Eagles, got a five-year deal worth $47 million ($15 million guaranteed); and Meachem got a four-year, $25.9 million deal ($14 million guaranteed) to leave New Orleans and replace Vincent Jackson as the Chargers’ go-to wide receiver.

The biggest contract, of course, went to Detroit’s Johnson, who signed an eight-year deal worth $132 million ($60 million guaranteed) to extend his time with the Lions.

So if you’re among the small but vocal minority of Packers fans wondering why the team hasn’t pursued any big-name free agents so far, here’s one reason: Re-signing Jennings, whose three-year, $27 million extension expires at the end of the 2012 season, won’t be cheap.

Jennings’ numbers over the past four seasons compare favorably to the aforementioned wideouts, which means he’s in line for a similar payday assuming he stays healthy and productive as the team’s No. 1 receiver, even with the emergence of Jordy Nelson last season.

Jennings caught 67 passes for 949 yards and nine touchdowns in 2011, when his regular season ended on Dec. 11 with a knee injury against Oakland. He sat out the final three regular-season games before returning to action for the team’s Jan. 15 season-ending loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

Here’s a look at how Jennings stacks up statistically over the past four seasons: