The day before the draft in the Detroit, the Lions made some big news. First up was a contract extension for wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, reportedly four years, more than $120 million with $77 million guaranteed.
As we know by now, the devil is in the contract details. National reporters often report the surface things (total, "up to", guaranteed money) without scrutiny to ensure they're at the front of the line to be fed information by agents. As it relates to St. Brown, a lot of big wide receiver contracts we've seen lately haven't been all that they seem.
Via Over The Cap, Spotrac and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, here's a look at St. Brown's new contract.
A deeper look at Amon Ra St. Brown's new contract with the Lions
In full view, St. Brown's new deal is a four-year extension worth $120.01 million in new money ($30.0025 million per year) with a $16.6 million signing bonus, $77.61 million in total guarantees and $62.77 million in practical guarantees.
Let's look at it year-by-year. Updated on May 3, 2024, via Over The Cap.
2024
Base salary: $1.366 million (fully guaranteed)
Signing bonus proration: $3,496,315
Cap number: $4.862,315
2025
Base salary: $8.3 million (fully guaranteed)
Signing bonus: proration: $3.3 million
Per game roster bonus: $510,000 total ($30 per game)
Workout bonus: $100,000
Option bonus: $1.7 million
Cap number: $13.91 million
2026
Base salary: $27.5 million (becomes fully guaranteed on March 15, 2025)
Signing bonus proration: $3.3 million
Per game roster bonus: $510,000 total
Workout bonus: $100,000
Option bonus: $1.7 million
Dead money if cut (pre-June 1): $9.9 million
Cap number: $33.11 million
2027
Base salary: $23.37 million ($14.834 guaranteed, split in half between injury guaranteed at signing and the rest guaranteed in March 2027)
Signing bonus proration: $3.3 million
Per game roster bonus: $510,000 total
Workout bonus: $100,000
Option bonus: $1.7 million
Dead money if cut (pre-June 1): $6.6 million
Cap number: $28.98 million
2028
Base salary: $35.4 million
Signing bonus proration: $3.3 million
Per game roster bonus: $510,000 total
Workout bonus: $100,000
Option bonus proration: $6.7 million
Dead money if cut (pre-June 1): $3.3 million
Cap number: $26.01 million
2029
Void year: $6.7 million option bonus proration
Cap number: $16.7 million
2030
Void year: $5 million option bonus proration
2031
Void year: $5 million option bonus proration
St. Brown is getting $34.86 million guaranteed at signing, encompassing his 2024 base salary, his 2025 base salary and the full $8.5 million option bonus for 2025 and the $16.69 million signing bonus. The practical guarantee jumps to $62.36 million, since the Lions can only get out of the 2026 base salary if they cut him after the 2024 season. The total of $14.834 million in 2027 base salary guaranteed gets the total potential guarantees to more than $77 million.
So it's practically a three-year, $84 million extension for St. Brown, with the inflated final year cash ($36.01 million) pushing the value up to $30 million per. The Lions have a potential out in 2027, and a more palatable out in 2028.