Matt Stafford is now highest paid player in the league after signing a long term deal with Detroit. Stafford inked a whopping five year 135 million dollar extension (27 million per season) with 92 million guaranteed on Monday night. Stafford was given a 50 million signing bonus and now will be with Detroit for the next six seasons including 2017. The total for the six years is 25.25 million per season based on his 2017 compensation from his previous deal. Stafford will be a Detroit Lion through the 2022 season where he will be 35 years old at that time.
This is a good deal for Stafford and Detroit. Detroit gained 5 million in cap space in 2017 to carry over and now can use the franchise tag on Ziggy Ansah in 2018 if they need now. Stafford would have earned 58 million on the franchise tag the next two seasons which explains the 50 million signing bonus for Matt. Stafford could have commanded 30 million per season on the open market so the 27 million per makes sense for both sides.
The full details should be available in the next few days to see the cap hit and money break down by each season.
Mathew Stafford is a Lion for a long time. Boombaya