More information surface about Lions’ Jared Goff’s expensive contract agreement.
Jared Goff’s Lions agreement represents both his rise in value since being the throw-in component in the Matthew Stafford trade and where the quarterback market has gone since the 2016 No. 1 pick’s Rams extension became public.
The Lions’ Monday deal gave Goff the NFL’s second-highest-paid player, trailing only Joe Burrow, and his new $53 million AAV is about $20 million higher than when he received his Rams paycheck in September 2019. The Rams signed Goff to a $33.5 million-per-year contract, which proved significant as quarterback deals climbed during his first three years with the Lions. With Goff’s previous contract expiring after the 2024 season, the Lions followed up record-breaking contracts for Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell by completing their major offseason priority.
When Goff came to terms with the Rams, his $33.5 million AAV made him the NFL’s second-highest-paid QB (behind Russell Wilson’s third Seahawks contract). This Lions agreement does not include assurances comparable to Deshaun Watson, Burrow, Justin Herbert, or Lamar Jackson. However, the Lions are committed to Goff for the foreseeable future; his contract reflects the team’s faith.
The guarantees in Goff’s four-year, $212 million extension extend to 2027, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, with $113.6 million guaranteed at signing. The actual guarantee number will most likely be significantly higher, as practical guarantees currently stand at $148.6 million. A rolling guarantee.
This deal has a mechanism similar to that employed by the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes.
Following two fully guaranteed years (2024-25), the Lions guaranteed $20 million of Goff’s $55 million 2026 base contract. According to Florio, the remaining $35 million of that compensation will be fully guaranteed in 2025. This structure repeats in some form in 2026. Florio adds that Goff’s $50 million base contract in 2027 includes $22 million in guaranteed injury compensation at signing. Of the $22 million, $18 million is converted from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee one year early. The remaining $4 million becomes guaranteed in 2027. Goff’s 2028 base salary ($39 million) is not guaranteed; a $7 million roster bonus will be payable prior to Goff’s age-34 season.
According to SI.com’s Albert Breer, Goff’s signing bonus of $73 million will account for a large portion of his guarantee. That number, prorated through 2028, will raise Detroit’s dead money if it bails on this pact early. Goff’s agreement ranks sixth in terms of full guarantees, below Watson, Burrow, Jackson, and Herbert, but the guarantee structure will almost certainly keep the former top selection under contract until at least 2026. Nobody has done better in terms of guarantees than quarterbacks who signed only four-year contracts. The players who have more total guarantees than Goff have all signed five- or six-year deals.
The 2027 vesting date will be important if the Lions reconsider signing a guy whose value plunged during his final years with the Rams. The Rams sent the Lions an extra first-round pick in exchange for taking on Goff’s old contract. Detroit brass insisted Goff, whom Lions GM Brad Holmes helped recruit when he was the Rams’ college scouting director, was not a bridge quarterback, thus the team passed on adding a passer early in the 2021 and 2022 drafts. This agreement practically ensures that 2023 third-round pick Hendon Hooker, whose rookie contract goes through 2026, will not have a plausible road to a starting position in Michigan.
Despite Goff’s troubles between Super Bowl LIII and the Lions’ 3-13-1 2021 season, the NFC North franchise will trust the form the resurgent QB has showed in his late 20s under OC. Ben Johnson will remain if/when the prospective play-caller leaves for a head coaching position. For the time being, Goff and Johnson will continue to collaborate, with the quarterback benefiting from a significantly improved contract.
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