On the Detroit Lions' offseason checklist is a contract extension for wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Talks reportedly ramped up at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, and earlier this week Dianna Russini of The Athletic hinted that a deal is close.
We've done a contract extension projection for St. Brown, as have others. Reports are pointing to it being just below the current top of the wide receiver market, $26-$28 million per year. Four years is the common term in projections, not counting 2024.
St. Brown will become one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL. The numbers he has posted through his first three seasons don't need to be repeated here. He's a core player the Lions place huge value on beyond the numbers he puts up. He sets a tone for his teammates with his work ethic, with the results to prove it's worth the hard work.
A look at Spotrac's contract projection for Amon-Ra St. Brown
When St. Brown's deal is done, the reports of the surface details will come. Years, total money, amount of guaranteed money, signing bonus. But the devil is in the details of NFL contracts, and Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac has fleshed out a detailed contract projection for St. Brown.
Ginnitti has the deal at four years and $112 million ($28 million per year). The projection includes a $25 million signing bonus, with $45 million guaranteed at signing and $65 million practically guaranteed.
The $45 million in guarantees starts with that $25 million signing bonus, along with base salaries in 2024 ($2.5 million) and 2025 ($12.5 million) as well as a $5 million roster bonus in 2025. The guarantees get to $65 million with St. Brown's $15 million base salary and $5 million roster bonus in 2026, which are guaranteed for injury at signing and become fully guaranteed in March of 2025.
There are $500,000 per game roster bonuses in all four years of Ginnitti's projection.
As would be expected Ginnitti's projection raises St. Brown's 2024 cap hit, to just shy of $7.7 million ($3.56 million right now). From there the deal has cap hits of $23 million (2025), $25.5 million (2026), $28.5 million (2027) and $30.86 million (2028). There are no void years attached, with the signing bonus proration put into 2024 instead.
St. Brown is not going anywhere anytime soon, barring something unforeseen. But it's interesting to note that Ginnitti's projection has the dead money hit dropping to $15 million in 2026, and going down $5 million each year from there. So in that scenario, and for some reason he doesn't keep producing as he has, the Lions could make a move to part ways three years into the total five-year commitment; after 2026. Unlikely, but possible.
It feels like a matter of time before the Lions get a deal done with St. Brown, and that time could be measured in days at this point. A contract along the lines of Ginnitti's projection is fairly likely.