One of the NFL’s top tacklers has a new deal in place. Foye Oluokun, a Jaguars free agency pickup in 2022, has agreed to terms on a new four-year deal, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports.
Oluokun’s second Jaguars contract will lock him down through the 2028 season; the deal is worth $45MM and features $22.5MM fully guaranteed. The ex-Falcons linebacker has led the NFL in solo tackles in each of the past two seasons. The deal can max out at $48MM, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.
AAV-wise, this agreement checks in a bit south of Oluokun’s first Jags contract. The Yale alum had signed a three-year, $45MM deal to join the Jags; that average salary ranked fourth at the position. Oluokun received $28MM guaranteed at signing, but the contract did not feature any guarantees for the upcoming season. Oluokun now has additional security.
Oluokun, 28, has rewarded the Jags on their initial investment, starting 17 games in each of the past two seasons. He reached 128 solo stops in 2022 and 111 last season. The former sixth-round pick has made at least 173 tackles in each of the past three seasons, leading the league in total tackles twice in that span. Oluokun’s 192 stops in his final Falcons slate are the most any NFLer has accumulated in the 21st century. That created a big market for him in 2022, and although the Jags have jettisoned multiple free agents they signed to help on defense that year (Foley Fatukasi, Darious Williams), they are doubling down on Oluokun.
This agreement will drop Oluokun’s cap number from its present $21.75MM place, providing cap relief for a Jags team that has made multiple big investments in free agency. The team signed Gabe Davis and Arik Armstead to eight-figure-per-year deals this month. The Jags have also begun negotiations with Trevor Lawrence. Although the team will have Lawrence locked up through 2025 due to the soon-to-be-exercised fifth-year option, many first-round quarterbacks since the 2011 CBA changed the rookie salary landscape have agreed to new deals before Year 4.
More to come.