Somewhere on the Detroit Lions' offseason agenda is a contract extension for Amon-Ra St. Brown that will make him one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL. Last week at the NFL Combine, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reported the two sides were set to meet.
On Tuesday morning, Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required) reported the Lions and St. Brown are close to a deal.
"In Detroit, WR Amon St. Brown and the Lions are close to a deal to keep the young star receiver in Detroit. He is expected to get a payday of around $26 to $28 million per season, which would place the 24-year-old WR near the top of the market for his position. Tyreek Hill makes a position-best average of $30 million per year."
In his notes from the combine, ESPN's Dan Graziano reported the same regarding where the price of St. Brown's contract extension is expected to be-"in the range of $26-$28 million per year". But Russini's addition that a deal is close is new.
Will Amon-Ra St. Brown's deal get done this week?
St. Brown is currently slated to make about a $3.3 million base salary in 2024, the final year of his rookie contract. A new deal would surely add money to this year for him, and up his $3.5 million cap hit to some degree.
It's not necessarily urgent for the Lions to get a deal done with St. Brown before free agency starts next week. But in terms of rewarding him for what he's done over his first three seasons by bolstering his pay for this year, and also extending him for what is likely to be four more years, maybe they want to lock in where his cap hit will be for this year sooner rather than later.
Looming deals for Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase are also likely to push the absolute top of the wide receiver market past $30 million per year.
With the momentum that been building over the last week, and Russini's fresh report, it may only be a matter of days before a contract extension for St. Brown is done.