Lions make Gibbs highest-paid RB in NFL history
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- Jahmyr Gibbs signed a three-year, $67.5 million extension with the Detroit Lions (up to $75.75M with $51.5M guaranteed), surpassing Bijan Robinson's Atlanta deal to become the highest-paid RB in NFL history.
- Bijan Robinson's three-year, $66.75M extension with the Falcons — signed earlier this week — had just set the bar, and his $22.25M AAV made him the third RB to clear $20M per year, alongside Jonathan Taylor ($22M) and Saquon Barkley ($20.6M).
- Gibbs has 49 career touchdowns through his first three seasons — the most in NFL history for a player through Year 3, surpassing the previous record of 47 held by Lions legend Barry Sanders.
- Gibbs finished fifth in the NFL last season with 1,839 scrimmage yards (1,223 rushing, 616 receiving) and 18 total touchdowns, and is one of 19 players to post 3,500+ rushing yards and 600+ receiving yards to start a career.
- The Lions traded David Montgomery to the Houston Texans in March and signed Isiah Pacheco, with new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing — hired from the Arizona Cardinals — now tasked with enhancing a run game that supported only a 9-8 finish in 2025.
Why it matters: The RB market reset twice in one week: Robinson's $22.25M AAV on Tuesday and Gibbs' record deal on Thursday push the position's ceiling past where it stood days ago. Detroit is now betting that a heavier Gibbs workload under new OC Drew Petzing can fix a run game behind a 9-8 finish that kept the Lions out of the playoffs.
