NFL Free Agency: The top unrestricted free agents
Ndamukong Suh, DT
Age: 27
2014 Salary: $12.6 million
Suh is perhaps the free agency’s diamond. He is the top defensive tackle on the market, and is looking to surpass J.J. Watt’s contract that pays him a little over $100 million over six years.
If he is to get that money, it will NOT be from the Detroit Lions. They have a tight salary cap situation, so a long-term deal will probably not be on the table. Detroit ownership is trying to run a line on their fans that they could franchise him and keep him another year. That just is not financially feasible.
If the Lions franchise Suh, the one-year salary would be $26.7 million. They did some things in his previous contract that cost them $9.7 million in dead money (money counted against the cap even if Suh isn’t there). That means Suh would cost Detroit $36.4 million. With the cap going to about $143 million next season, Suh’s salary would be 25 percent of that cap. That will not happen.
Suh is a huge talent that could also give his team a huge headache. He has a penchant for, let’s say, playing over the line at times. He has been disciplined by the league office ten times over his career, and suspended once. In fact, he was actually suspended for last week’s Wild Card game against the Cowboys after stomping on Rodgers’ legs the previous week, but was instead fined $70,000.
A team can handle that headache, however, if he continues with his play. This season he had 44 tackles and 8.5 sacks. In fact, he’s had 8 sacks or more in three of his five seasons.
There is no bigger clog in the middle than Ndamukong Suh, and come NFL free agency time, his salary will reflect that fact.