What a Contact Mission Actually Is
A contact mission is a co-op job handed to you by one of GTA Online's non-player characters — a contact. Instead of buying a business or launching a heist, you accept work from a person: steal this, deliver that, silence them, bring the car back in one piece.
These jobs are the oldest structured work in the game, and they still run constantly. GTABase counts 26 contact mission strands in total, most of them playable by one to four players, with a few allowing up to six or eight.
This article is a map of that system: who the contacts are, what kind of work each one gives, how the missions reach you, and how the pay is calculated. It will not walk through any single heist or business — those have their own guides, linked where they fit.
Key Takeaways
- Contact missions are co-op jobs offered by NPC characters. There are 26 strands, typically for one to four players, and they unlock as you rank up.
- Work arrives three ways: texts from contacts, phoning a contact and using Request Job, or picking the mission from the Jobs list once unlocked.
- The classic contacts are Lamar, Gerald and Simeon, followed by Lester, Martin Madrazo, Trevor and Ron; later updates added strands such as Captain Darcy's A Superyacht Life and Avi Schwartzman's KnoWay Out.
- Classic contact missions pay on a time-based scale set in 2014: the longer the job runs, up to 15 minutes, the bigger the share of its maximum payout.
- Michael is not a phone contact. He appears in one story mission, Home Sweet Home, reached through Avi's strand and a mansion — covered in Part 5.
1. How Contact Work Reaches You
Contacts advertise themselves. As you play, contacts text job offers to your phone periodically, and accepting one drops you into that mission's lobby.
You do not have to wait for an invitation. Open your phone's contacts, call a mission-giver and use the Request Job option, and they will send you one of their missions. Once a mission is unlocked, you can also launch it directly from the Jobs list in the pause menu.
A smaller number of strands begin at a physical spot instead — a corona in Freemode, a payphone, or a property you own. Missions unlock as your rank rises, so a new character's phone fills up steadily over their first hours of play.
2. The Original Contacts: Lamar, Gerald and Simeon
Lamar Davis is the first contact most players meet, arriving with the tutorial itself. His classic missions are street-level gang work around Strawberry and Chamberlain Hills, and his later Lowriders strand strings eight missions together in sequence.
Gerald deals in drug turf. His missions are short, scrappy fights over product and territory, and his later Gerald's Last Play strand continues that story for higher-ranked players.
Simeon Yetarian runs Premium Deluxe Motorsport and a sideline in recovering cars other people would rather keep. His missions are repo work — steal a listed vehicle and deliver it — and Premium Deluxe Repo Work expands the strand years later.
3. Lester, Madrazo, Trevor and Ron
Lester Crest is the planner behind the game's heists, and his contact strand unlocks at Rank 14. His jobs are the fiddliest of the classic set — hacks, hits and delicate removals — and they pay to match. His strand also holds some of the most replayed missions in the game, including A Titan of a Job, the plane-recovery job that has been a rite of passage for new crews since 2013.
Martin Madrazo hands out work for his cartel from the top end of the market, and his Madrazo Dispatch Services strand later turns that into a dispatch business of targeted hits. Trevor Philips and Ron Jakowski cover Blaine County: chaotic, violent jobs run out of Sandy Shores for Trevor Philips Enterprises.
Together with the originals, these are the contacts the game was built on. Their missions are the ones ranked and compared in our best-paying jobs and missions guide, which is the right next read if pay is your priority.
4. The Later-Era Strands
The contact list kept growing long after launch. Captain Brendan Darcy offers A Superyacht Life, six co-op missions launched from the bridge of a Galaxy Super Yacht or by calling the captain on your phone — the strand that makes our yachts guide more than a luxury catalogue.
Franklin Clinton's strand arrives through the Agency: The Contract pairs him with Dr. Dre across a story told in mission form, owned and run through the property covered in our Agency guide and our guide to The Contract itself.
The newest classic-style strand belongs to Avi Schwartzman, the signal expert from the original heists. His five KnoWay Out missions — Negative Press, Inside Job, Tunnel Vision, Trash Talking and A Clean Break — begin at a ringing payphone by the Xero Gas Station on Calais Avenue in Little Seoul and pay roughly GTA$525,000 across the full set. They target KnoWay, a driverless taxi company building a surveillance network, and they are the doorway to the game's most famous returning face.
5. Michael: The Newest Face Is Not a Phone Contact
Michael De Santa finally came to GTA Online with A Safehouse in the Hills on 10 December 2025, the last of the story mode trio to make the jump. But he does not work like Lester or Lamar: there is no Michael strand in your phone, and he never texts you a job.
Instead, Michael appears as your neighbour. Buy one of the new mansions and he and Amanda drop by in an introductory scene — Michael is a Vinewood film producer now, and the criminal life is behind him, at least on paper. Our mansions guide covers those properties in full.
His mission, Home Sweet Home, unlocks once you own a mansion and have finished all five of Avi's KnoWay Out missions. Avi calls you in Freemode, and the job itself is a defence of your mansion alongside Michael against mercenary attackers, paying GTA$500,000 on first completion according to the guides that documented it.
6. How Contact Missions Pay
Classic contact missions have paid on a time-based system since Rockstar's 2014 rebalance. A mission's cash is a rising share of its maximum that grows with how long the job takes: a sub-two-minute blitz pays only 12.5 percent, while a mission that runs 15 minutes or longer pays the full amount.
Difficulty multiplies the result. Normal adds 25 percent to cash and RP, and Hard adds 50 percent. Playing with two to four players also pays each person more than playing the same job solo, and every completion adds RP and Job Points on top of the cash.
On that classic scale, a Hard mission's maximum starts at GTA$18,300 for a rank 5 mission and rises by GTA$60 per rank to GTA$22,860 at rank 81. Treat that as the classic missions' framework rather than a universal rule: several later series, including Madrazo Dispatch Services, Premium Deluxe Repo Work, Gerald's Last Play and A Superyacht Life, sit outside the formula, open at rank 1, and can pay more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a contact mission in GTA Online?
A contact mission is a co-op job given by an NPC character, such as Gerald, Simeon or Lester. Most support one to four players, and they are launched from texts, phone calls or the Jobs list.
How do I get contact missions?
Contacts text offers to your phone as you play. You can also phone a contact and use Request Job, or launch any unlocked mission directly from the Jobs list in the pause menu.
How many contact mission strands are there?
GTABase counts 26 contact mission strands, covering the classic 2013 contacts and the strands added by later updates, up to Avi Schwartzman's KnoWay Out.
Who is the first contact in GTA Online?
Lamar Davis, who arrives with the tutorial, with Gerald introduced immediately afterwards. Simeon Yetarian is the third mission-giver the opening brings in.
How do contact missions pay?
Classic missions pay a time-based share of their maximum: longer jobs pay more, up to the full amount at 15 minutes. Hard difficulty adds 50 percent to cash and RP, and playing with more players pays more per person.
Do contact missions pay more with more players?
Yes. On the classic scale, completing a mission with two to four players pays each player more than completing the same mission solo, on top of any difficulty bonus.
Can you play contact missions solo?
Most of them, yes. The majority of strands support one to four players, so a solo player can run them alone, though the pay per run is lower than with a team.
Is Michael a contact in GTA Online?
Not in the classic sense. Michael never texts jobs or answers a Request Job call. He stars in one story mission, Home Sweet Home, which unlocks through Avi Schwartzman's strand once you own a mansion.
Who gives the KnoWay Out missions?
Avi Schwartzman. His five contact missions start at a payphone in Little Seoul and target the KnoWay driverless taxi company, paying roughly GTA$525,000 across the set.
Do contact missions unlock as you rank up?
Yes. New contacts and strands unlock with rank — Lester's strand at Rank 14, for example — while several later series, including A Superyacht Life and Madrazo Dispatch Services, are available from Rank 1.
Conclusion
Contact missions are GTA Online's connective tissue: a dozen familiar faces, 26 strands of work, and a pay system that rewards taking your time over racing the clock. Learn which contact's flavour suits you, keep your phone answered, and the work never really stops — it just starts arriving from better-dressed people.
