Hey Dallas, take notes. This is how you treat your franchise cornerstones.
The report came in on Oct. 29 that the Detroit Lions and superstar DE Aidan Hutchinson agreed to terms on a four year, $180 million contract extension. And just to rub salt in the wound, the $141 million guaranteed under his new contract gives Hutchinson the highest base pay among any non-quarterback in the NFL over the next four years. Yes, including Micah Parsons ($136 million).
While Hutchinson's career hasn't been as noisy as the edge rusher we're all thinking of, we can be honest and chalk that up to Dallas' much larger market and the gruesome leg injury that took Hutchinson out in Week 6 of last season.
But prior to that fateful fracture, Hutchinson was on a historic tear. He led the league in both sacks and pressures going into Week 6 despite the Lions having already had their bye at that point. In fact, Hutchinson had posted the most sacks (7.5) by a Lion through five weeks since 1983. And while he's not necessarily setting the league on fire a season later, Hutchinson is still fifth in the league in sacks (6) while also setting up both the second-most sacks (8) and picks (2). But his extension alone isn't the only thing that makes Dallas look like idiots for dealing Parsons.
Everyone in Detroit is getting paid
A team as bereft of greatness as the Lions are must recognize when their championship window arrives. And by the football gods, do the Lions know that their time is now.
Hutchinson is only the latest in a line of extensions paid out by the Lions to their current core. Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, Alim McNeill, Kerby Joseph, and Jameson Williams have all gotten paid over the past two years, and Detroit will likely have some tough calls down the line regarding its star-studded 2023 draft class.
Of Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, and Brian Branch, Gibbs and Campbell can be had for fifth year options, but by 2027, Hutchinson's new deal will kick in and the Lions will be out of time.
But that's the deal with football -- once your team is ready to win now, you have to commit to winning now. The flurry of signings for the Lions makes the Cowboys look especially heartless and stupid for reducing Parsons' contract, and then trade saga, to a matter of pride. Dallas could have afforded him, and only held out because team owner Jerry Jones loves his power trips. And now, Dallas' defense is bad enough that they're in the edge rusher market less than half a season after letting Parsons go, and for players that are near the end of their primes.
The Lions are how a team that knows what it has operates. Regardless of what comes down the road next, they know how special this iteration of the team is, and Hutchinson's extension is proof of that. And he's just the first in a long line of pass rusher deals that will make Jones' snubbing of Parsons even more stupid in retrospect as time goes on.