Vikings’ Rival Fired up Mind-Boggling Deal on Monday
Worried about the Detroit Lions possibly adding a high-end rookie quarterback sometime soon in the draft? Don’t be.
Vikings’ Rival Fired up Mind-Boggling Deal on Monday
Detroit attached its Super Bowl window to Jared Goff on Monday, extending his contract in a big way and making the veteran passer the second highest-paid player in the sport.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted, “Another done deal in Detroit: Lions are signing QB Jared Goff to a four-year, $212 million contract extension that includes $170 million guaranteed, sources tell ESPN. Goff now goes from former No. 1 overall pick to highest-paid Lion in franchise history.”
The deal is massive, especially for Goff, a man not long ago classified as a mid-tier quarterback. In fact, when he joined the Lions’ roster via trade with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021, Goff seemed like a deal-sweetener piece, not a quarterback of the future. Detroit disagreed.
Goff tallied 30 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and 4,575 passing yards in 2023, his second-best season to date behind a memorable 2018 campaign, where the Rams reached the Super Bowl and lost to the New England Patriots. Per EPA/Play, Goff ranked as the league’s 10th-best quarterback in 2023, sandwiched between Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers (No. 9) and Baker Mayfield from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 11). Goff ranked ninth per the same metric in 2022. Goff is also a three-time Pro Bowler.
NFL Network‘s Tom Pelissero chimed in regarding Goff’s new deal, “QB Jared Goff’s new deal puts him under contract through 2027 with an option for 2028, per source. What a story for Goff, who was the afterthought in the Matthew Stafford trade, and now has found a home — and another big payday — in Detroit.”
Only Joe Burrow ($55 million per year) earns more than Goff at the moment, though the market constantly resets and could look markedly different by this time next year.
The Lions will now bank on Goff as “the guy” to take them to the Promised Land, as $170 million guaranteed is no joke. That stack of cash basically nominates Goff for QB1 duty — no matter what — for three more seasons and probably the full four defined by the extension.
Last season, Detroit was so close to a Super Bowl appearance that it could taste it in the NFC Championship. But then Goff and Co. suffered the largest meltdown in Conference Championship history, collapsing after a 24-7 halftime lead to the San Francisco 49ers. San Francisco won 34-31.
The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl two weeks later.
The Vikings are 3-5 (.375) versus Goff-led teams.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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