Aidan Hutchinson's big extension another sign that the Lions are comfortable paying everyone Frank Schwab October 29, 2025 at 1:07 PM 0 Maybe the Detroit Lions just like hearing "highest paid" alongside their contract extension announcements. The Lions aren't here for your concerns about the salary cap. Wednesday's news that defensive end Aidan Hutchinson became the highestpaid nonquarterback in NFL history, in terms of guaranteed money, was only surprising because Detroit keeps setting new bars. Hutchinson signed for $180 million over four years with $141 million guaranteed. When AmonRa St.
- - Aidan Hutchinson's big extension another sign that the Lions are comfortable paying everyone
Frank Schwab October 29, 2025 at 1:07 PM
0
Maybe the Detroit Lions just like hearing "highest paid" alongside their contract extension announcements.
The Lions aren't here for your concerns about the salary cap. Wednesday's news that defensive end Aidan Hutchinson became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, in terms of guaranteed money, was only surprising because Detroit keeps setting new bars. Hutchinson signed for $180 million over four years with $141 million guaranteed.
When Amon-Ra St. Brown signed his extension, he was for a small period the highest-paid wide receiver in terms of annual average. Offensive tackle Penei Sewell's deal made him, at the time, the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL. Jared Goff's deal didn't make him the highest-paid quarterback, but he was second at the time he signed his four-year, $212 million extension. Others like offensive tackle Taylor Decker (three years, $60 million), defensive tackle Alim McNeill (four years, $97 million), safety Kerby Joseph (four years, $86 million) and cornerback D.J. Reed (three years, $48 million) are paid very well too.
The Lions have eight players with contracts that average at least $20 million per season. For comparison, the Kansas City Chiefs have only five. The Philadelphia Eagles have seven.
[Get more Lions news: Detroit team feed]
Detroit's aggressive nature on the field in fourth-down situations and play-calling lives in the front office too. There are several other key stars who are on rookie deals and will need extensions soon. The Lions don't seem to be worried.
They're seemingly going to pay everyone and figure it out later. It's a different way of going about roster building.
Is Lions' approach the right one?
You'll hear often that NFL teams can't pay everyone due to the salary cap. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was put in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he was saying that after trading Micah Parsons.
"We've got some real talent on our roster. You can't keep all of those players under our (salary cap) system," Jones said in September, via 105.3 The Fan. "You have to make some decisions. One of the things that I pride myself in, even though I'm criticized for dragging a negotiation out, is that you need to see the wreck when it's coming or see the event when it's coming.
"When we signed Dak Prescott we knew that we we're going to have to be very judicious as we go forward to put the kind of roster around Prescott that gives us a chance to win the Super Bowl."
The Lions are paying a quarterback. And, like the Cowboys, paying a No. 1 receiver and also other valuable positions. But they feel like the best way to build a Super Bowl roster around Goff is to keep their stars, and keep them happy too.
Hutchinson is one of the top pass rushers in the NFL and those players don't come cheap. His annual average of $45 million seems to be an impediment to signing other stars, though the Lions don't seem to think so.
It's a fascinating approach. Other teams seem to be worried about paying everyone due to the cap, though that could be an excuse for being a bit cheap. The Eagles have shown that it's possible to pay a marquee quarterback and also pay multiple stars around him. They won a Super Bowl and are viewed as a model franchise.
The Lions are also respected now for how they have gone about team building. They're paying everyone. Maybe that will be the next trend.
Lions' drafting success has helped
Detroit has done a fantastic job drafting in recent years, which allows them to pay top-end veterans like Goff, Sewell, St. Brown and Hutchinson. They're getting tremendous value out of players like running back Jahmyr Gibbs, tight end Sam LaPorta, safety Brian Branch, receiver Jameson Williams and linebacker Jack Campbell.
But all those big names won't be on rookie deals much longer. If the Lions are worried about signing those young stars long term, they're not showing it.
Usually rampant spending has an endgame. The New Orleans Saints are dealing with that now. But the cap continues to rise, and all of the big deals the Lions have signed have aged well. For example, St. Brown's deal was the highest for a wide receiver on average when he signed it, and now he's seventh among receivers. The market for top-end players always goes up; even though the Lions are paying many players top-of-market deals, they have figured out that getting ahead of many of the contracts ends up looking smart in most cases.
Managing the salary cap is one of the key jobs of an NFL front office. The Lions will have to keep adjusting as they go. Goff's salary cap number goes up to $69.6 million next year and Detroit will have to figure out a restructure with him. They also will want some wiggle room to add free agents, as they did with Reed.
The Lions are confident in massaging it all. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, and if Detroit really can retain most or all of the young core of Gibbs, LaPorta, Branch, Williams, Campbell and others. The Lions seem to want to pay everyone. It hasn't backfired on them yet.
Source: "AOL Sports"
Source: Sports
Published: October 30, 2025 at 12:27AM on Source: BERRY MAG
#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle