The day before the draft late last month, the Detroit Lions knocked out two big contract extensions that were on their offseason plate. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and offensive tackle Penei Sewell will be among the highest-paid at their positions with their new deals.
The biggest piece of remaining offseason business for the Lions is now the contract extension for quarterback Jared Goff. After the draft seems like the perfect time for the news to drop, and by all indications Goff will be at OTAS when the next phase starts. So there doesn't seem to be an animosity from either side, not that it would get out publicly if there was.
Goff has remained coy and said little or nothing about contract negotiations. In a pre-draft interview with Heavy Sports, he kept that up.
"Just play it by ear. ”There have been discussions, but I’ll let them do their jobs,” Goff said.
The longer the Lions wait to extend Goff, the more expensive the deal will be. He's got a case to surpass deals that have been done or will be done for other quarterbacks this offseason. It may come down to the length of the deal, guaranteed money and potential outs for the team, which is not breaking news but was recently reiterated by Ryan Ermanni of Woodward Sports.
The Lions aren’t going to be irresponsible with the Jared Goff deal. pic.twitter.com/5eQYjxjTzl
— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) May 1, 2024
For his part, and for whatever it's worth, St. Brown recently told 97.1 The Ticket he knows Goff's extension is "going to get done." It does feel like a matter of time. and there is time before the season starts.
Questions about Jared Goff's contract extension highlighted more than ever
Spotrac has freshly pointed to four-years, $160 million as the foundation for the discussion on Goff's contract extension, with their calculated market value lower than that: four years, $153.4 million ($38.4 million per year). If the core, surface value of an offer doesn't start with a '4' in per year average, that's presumably a non-starter for Goff's agent.
It easily follows that the biggest post-draft offseason question for the Lions is Goff's contract extension, and Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports simply pointed it out.
"When will the Lions extend Jared Goff?"
"This feels like more "when" than "if' as Goff and the Lions reportedly have mutual interest in signing an extension. Goff is entering the final year of his deal and getting an extension done can get Detroit focused on what could prove to be a special season in 2024."
It's only May, days before Lions' rookie minicamp right now. It's a complicated negotiation when you're dealing in big money over a multi-year commitment, even if both sides clearly want to stay together. But the more days pass before Goff's deal is announced the more questions there may be, and those questions will get more intense if a deal isn't done when training camp is here.
There is plenty of time for the deal with Goff to get to the finish line, and the idea it's a formality remains. But the clock is ticking, and that shouldn't be ignored.