Aidan Hutchinson Gets Record Guarantees In Becoming NFL's Second-Highest-Paid Edge Rusher
Deal averages $45M per season, trailing only Micah Parsons
The operative words for Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson on Wednesday? Cha-Ching!
That's because there must be cash register sounds going off in his head to go along with thoughts of millions of dollars raining down on him after he just agreed to a four-year contract that makes him the second-highest paid edge rusher in NFL history.
Detroit Lions rookie Aidan Hutchinson refuses to sign MSU ball. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Hutchinson Agrees To $180M Deal
Hutchinson will be signing a four-year contract with the Lions worth $180 million, according to his agent Mike McCartney. The deal includes $141 million in guarantees.
That means Hutchinson will make $45 million per season on an average annual basis.
And that will tuck Hutchinson in behind Micah Parsons as the league's highest-paid edge rusher now – or ever.
As for the guaranteed money, the $141 million represents the highest figure ever for a non-quarterback.
Not bad for a player who only two days ago was still on his rookie contract that made him the league's 39th-highest paid pass rusher.
No more.
(Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
NFL's Highest-Paid Edge Rushers
The new contract hierarchy as soon as Hutchinson signs will look like this:
Micah Parsons: $46.5M.
Aidan Hutchinson: $45M.
T.J. Watt: $41M.
Myles Garrett: $40M.
Danielle Hunter: $35.6M.
Maxx Crosby: $35.5M.
How will Aidan Hutchinson play in 2022? (Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Lions Believe In Hutchinson
Hutchinson, the No. 2 overall pick in 2022, had been signed through the 2026 season on his fifth-year rookie option. That contract was to pay him $23.5 million next season.
The massive guarantees in this deal speak to the confidence the Lions have in Hutchinson, who is both an outstanding player on the field, a leader in the locker room, and a pillar in the community.
Hutchinson has six sacks this season. That ties him for seventh among NFL sack leaders.
But that is also so far a fine comeback from last season when Hutchinson fractured his tibia and fibula in Week 6.
Hutchinson was leading the league with 7.5 sacks when the injury happened. And the Lions believe he's on that same performance trajectory again even if the numbers are not the same.