Lions teammate jumps to defend Jared Goff's potential $50,000,000 contract extension: "Worth every dollar"
Jared Goff has consistently found success during his NFL career but hasn't always received the credit he may deserve. Before being traded to the Detroit Lions, he helped the Los Angeles Rams reach the Super Bowl in the 2018 season. With his new team, he fell just one game shy of making it to another one last season.
The Lions are desperate to finally get to one as they are one of the oldest franchises in the NFL but have never appeared in a Super Bowl, let alone win a ring. Goff has helped to bring them as close as they have ever been and is one of the reasons why the Lions will enter the 2024 NFL season with massive expectations.
The only catch is that Goff is entering the final year of his contract and is reportedly seeking an extension. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said on "SportsCenter" on April 14 that Goff should command an extension in the neighborhood of $45 or $50 million. That's the same thought the Detroit News had in late February: four years for $200 million.
Goff's star wide receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown, believes he deserves it. He discussed it during a recent interview with Robert Griffin III on "The Ones."
"His stats are some of the best among quarterbacks in the league," St. Brown said. "So, he is worth every dollar that he gets, and I can't wait for him to get paid, and be a part of the future with him for a long time."
Jared Goff signed a four-year contract extension worth $134 million with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, which transferred to the Detroit Lions in March 2021, when he was a part of the Matthew Stafford trade. This deal expires after the 2024 NFL season, so Goff could become an unrestricted free agent next year.
He is reportedly interested in signing an extension this year rather than running the risk of playing the final season of his current deal. Amon-Ra St. Brown seems to think that Goff will get what he is looking for after an impressive run with the Lions so far.
Jared Goff could become one of the highest-paid QBs
The price for locking any quarterback into a new contract has become increasingly expensive across the NFL. While the top players at the position have been setting records annually in terms of total value, it sometimes comes down to a matter of timing in negotiations.
Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones are examples of this as they rank among the top 10 highest-paid quarterbacks by AAV. Jared Goff ranks 16th at $33.5 million in AAV, but with his new contract expected to come by next year at the latest, he will likely climb much higher.
Goff has had more postseason success and consistent individual passing production during his career than several of the names listed above him. Kirk Cousins is a comparable example, and he just signed a contract with the Atlanta Falcons worth $45 million in AAV. Goff can realistically receive a similar contract, giving him a shot to crack the top five highest-paid players.