Which NFL players will reset the market with new d...
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- Mahomes signed a record $504.8 million, 8-year extension with the Chiefs at roughly $63 million AAV — the first half-billion-dollar deal in NFL history, with the first four years reportedly fully guaranteed and future-year money guaranteeing 12 months in advance.
- Will Anderson Jr. became the first non-quarterback to break the $50 million AAV barrier with his Texans extension, capping a 16-month edge-rusher escalation that ran from Nick Bosa's $34 million (Sept. 2023) to Maxx Crosby's $35M+ to Myles Garrett's $40M to Micah Parsons' $46.5M.
- Lamar Jackson is seeking a new contract this year with no guaranteed money remaining after this season, an $84.3 million cap hit looming in 2027, and a no-franchise-tag clause kicking in after 2027 — Barnwell projects a possible $65 million-per-year deal that would make him the highest-paid player ever.
- Micah Parsons' Packers deal pays him $124 million over the first three years, nearly $29 million more than Anderson's $95.1 million, meaning the new AAV benchmark overstates how much the Texans' edge rusher actually takes home relative to the former Cowboys star.
- The top of the quarterback market stalled at Dak Prescott's $60 million for two years before Mahomes' deal, while Daniel Jones' two-year, $88 million contract with the Colts hands him a larger AAV than all but two non-QBs in football.
- The edge-rusher market has hit a lull because most veteran stars (Crosby, Garrett, Parsons, Anderson, Aidan Hutchinson) have already signed extensions, and no defensive player from the 2024 draft has more than 12.5 sacks over his first two seasons.
Why it matters: The Ravens face an $84.3 million cap hit on Lamar Jackson in 2027 with no guaranteed money left on his deal, forcing Baltimore to either extend their two-time MVP or restructure — and Jackson's no-franchise-tag clause after 2027 means his leverage only grows, with Barnwell suggesting a $65 million-per-year deal that would push him past Mahomes' $63 million AAV.
