Sewell's 2024 extension offers map for how Lions could make Hutchinson NFL's highest-paid non-QB
West Palm Beach, Fla. — It was around this time last year that the Detroit Lions agreed to terms on long-term extensions with three of the franchise’s building blocks — Jared Goff, Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
That trio is now tied to Detroit through the 2028 season. The deals are also emblematic of the team’s strategy to retain its own. This offseason, the Lions are looking to potentially lock up two other key pieces, All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph and 2023 Pro Bowler Aidan Hutchinson, the No. 2 pick from the 2022 draft.
Last month, we projected what a market-resetting contract would look like for Joseph after he paced the league with nine interceptions in 2024, bringing his three-year tally to 17 picks. Up next is Hutchinson, who had been tracking toward winning Defensive Player of the Year honors before he suffered a season-ending broken leg in the second half of the team’s Week 6 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Despite that devastating injury, Hutchinson, too, is poised to reset the market at his position. That’s a figure that’s already seen a sharp rise this offseason, with Maxx Crosby scoring a three-year, $106.5 pact from the Raiders, followed closely by Myles Garrett's four-year, $160 million appeasement from the Cleveland Browns after his public trade request weeks earlier.
That means the bar is now a $40 million average, 17.6% more than it was entering the offseason. Move over, Nick Bosa. At the league meetings this week, Lions general manager Brad Holmes acknowledged the jump was in line with the team’s forecasting.
“We had it in that range, kind of already, when we do our future planning and budgeting,” Holmes said.
It might surprise some when I tell you, don’t be surprised if Hutchinson’s final number comes in higher than $40 million, but with caveats tied to leverage the team holds in negotiations.