• QB Kirk Cousins signs with Atlanta Falcons: Cousins has proven he’s a top 10-15 quarterback in the NFL, and this is the going rate when a player of that caliber reaches unrestricted free agency
• DI Chris Jones signs with Kansas City Chiefs: Jones truly tethers his contract to the Aaron Donald deal, which had been seemingly treated as an outlier in recent extensions for top young interior defenders.
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NFL free agency frenzy is in full swing. The league has been swept by a whirlwind of activity over the last 24 hours, marked by six players securing deals that eclipse $100 million in total money.
Here are the 10 biggest contracts so far, according to our friends at OverTheCap.
Miss the action? Click here to find a comprehensive list of all the key moves of the 2024 free-agency period.
QB KIRK COUSINS SIGNS WITH ATLANTA FALCONS
Contract: Four years, $180 million ($45 million per year), $100 million total guaranteed
Cousins has undoubtedly proven he’s a top 10-15 quarterback in the NFL, and this is the going rate when a player of that caliber reaches unrestricted free agency. Nonetheless, we just feel like some people are hand-waving the fact he’ll be 36 years old coming off a torn Achilles. That said, his dance moves looked good at the NFL Awards, so clearly his recovery is going well.
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DI CHRIS JONES SIGNS WITH KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Contract: Five years, $158.75 million ($31.75 million per year), $95 million total guaranteed
Jones truly tethers his contract to the Aaron Donald deal, which had been seemingly treated as an outlier in recent extensions for top young interior defenders. This is a massive payday for one of the game’s best players, and Kansas City also had to do whatever it took to get this done.
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EDGE BRIAN BURNS TRADED TO NEW YORK GIANTS, SIGNS EXTENSION
Contract: Five years, $141 million ($28.2 million per year), $87.5 million total guaranteed
The most favorable way to look at this deal is that the Giants effectively used the draft capital they acquired for interior defender Leonard Williams to land a younger player looking for a second contract instead of a third contract. Burns addresses arguably the biggest need on this Giants roster and should have a lot less attention on him all the time now playing alongside Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
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DI CHRISTIAN WILKINS SIGNS WITH LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
Contract: Four years, $110 million ($27.5 million per year), $84.75 million total guaranteed
Realistically, this should have been about the expected price once the Chris Jones deal got done and truly tethered an interior defender contract to the Aaron Donald outlier (an outlier no more). Wilkins bet on himself in 2023 despite seemingly his entire draft class around him cashing in, and boy, did that pay off. The duo of Maxx Crosby and Wilkins is going to take this ascending Raiders defense to even greater heights in 2024.
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G ROBERT HUNT SIGNS WITH CAROLINA PANTHERS
Contract: Five years, $100 million ($20 million per year), $63 million total guaranteed
Hunt becomes the fourth guard in the NFL to reach the $20 million per year mark, with the position market exploding this offseason as a response to the interior defender market doing the same for the second year running. Carolina needs to protect quarterback Bryce Young at all costs, and this is a good first step.
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More from NFL Free Agency
10 moves that make sense in the coming days
2024 Free Agency Live Grades: Signings, trades and latest transactions
2024 Free Agency Tracker: Signings, trades and cuts for all 32 NFL teams
2024 NFL Salary Cap Tracker: All 32 NFL teams ranked by cap space
Fantasy Football: Top 10 winners and losers from the start of free agency
QB BAKER MAYFIELD SIGNS WITH TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Contract: Three years, $100 million ($33.3 million per year), $50 million total guaranteed
This contract is a win for Baker Mayfield, the Buccaneers and the NFL at large. A true mid-tier market is developing at quarterback, which had long been a challenge. Tampa Bay gives itself an out after each year, and Baker gets the major payday he deserves.
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DI JUSTIN MADUBUIKE SIGNS WITH BALTIMORE RAVENS
Contract: Four years, $98 million ($24.5 million per year), $75.5 million total guaranteed
Madubuike had one of the best contract years in recent memory, making splash plays seemingly every week and improving his efficiency as a pass rusher along with a boost to his traditional stats.
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CB JAYLON JOHNSON SIGNS WITH CHICAGO BEARS
Contract: Four years, $76 million ($19 million per year), $54 million total guaranteed
Chicago had to get this deal done, with Johnson coming off the best season of his NFL career, and the team still managed to keep this contract outside the top five in a handful of key metrics at the cornerback position. Johnson wins by getting it down to four years, allowing him another bite at the apple when he’ll be 27 or 28, but Chicago should be happy with standing firm.
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G DAMIEN LEWIS SIGNS WITH CAROLINA PANTHERS
Contract: Four years, $53 million ($13.25 million per year), $26.2 million fully guaranteed
With the information we learned about the guard market throughout the first day of free agency, with players like Jonah Jackson signing for $51 million over three years, we really like the value and fit for Lewis in Carolina, even though he exceeded our projection like every guard has thus far. This is now basically a third-tier guard deal, and Lewis had some encouraging play in his 2023 tape with reason to believe he could continue to improve.
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G JONAH JACKSON SIGNS WITH LOS ANGELES RAMS
Contract: Three years, $51 million ($17 million per year), $34 million total guaranteed
This is an interesting deal for a few reasons. First, the Rams got great play at left guard from rookie Steve Avila. Second, the Rams just extended right guard Kevin Dotson to a three-year, $48 million extension last week. Third, they still have question marks at both tackle spots. However, they should have an absolutely bruising run game between the tackles. We were underwhelmed by Jackson’s pass-blocking ability in his 2023 film, but the league clearly viewed him as an ascending young player, because his market was very strong.
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