Sports News

NFL Has a New Highest-Paid Player in History

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford gets 5-year contract extension for $135M

By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff

This Aug. 25, 2017, file photo shows Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford during the first half of the team's NFL preseason football game against the New England Patriots in Detroit.   (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski, file)

(NEWSER) – On Monday, per NFL.com, the Detroit Lions "started gathering the money bags." That's because they decided to break out the checkbook to retain star quarterback Matthew Stafford in a contract extension that runs through 2022. The 29-year-old's new salary over that five-year period: $135 million, or about $27 million per year, making him the league's highest-paid player ever, per ESPN. Of that amount, $92 million is guaranteed, including a $50 million signing bonus.

NFL.com notes that this new level of payday could open the floodgates for other quarterbacks and that "it's only a matter of time before we end up seeing a $30 million per year quarterback in the NFL." One person who's especially excited about the news: Stafford's wife, Kelly, who posted a short clip of their beaming twin baby daughters on Instagram with the caption: "When daddy and mommy whispered to us we would be spending 6 more years in Detroit … hope y'all are as excited as we are!"