MAY 16: When speaking about his extension – which is now official – Goff noted he received a no-trade clause. He added that the security the clause provides was a major factor in negotiations, and it confirms he will remain in Detroit through the life of the pact. Any change of scenery before then will not be possible without Goff green-lighting a trade.
MAY 15: Jared Goff‘s Lions extension both reflects his surge in value since being the throw-in piece in the Matthew Stafford trade while also illustrating where the quarterback market has gone since the 2016 No. 1 pick’s Rams extension surfaced.
The Lions’ Monday extension made Goff the NFL’s second-highest-paid player — behind only Joe Burrow — and his new $53MM AAV is almost $20MM north of where that number stood when Goff received his Rams payday in September 2019. The Rams gave Goff a $33.5MM-per-year deal that became valuable, as QB deals skyrocketed, over the first three years of his Lions stay. With Goff’s previous contract expiring after the 2024 season, the Lions followed up record-setting extensions for Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell by checking off their top offseason priority.
When Goff agreed to terms with the Rams, the $33.5MM AAV number made him the NFL’s second-highest-paid passer (behind Russell Wilson‘s third Seahawks contract). This Lions deal does not feature guarantees that rival Deshaun Watson or even the likes of Burrow, Justin Herbert or Lamar Jackson. But the Lions are committing to Goff for the foreseeable future; his contract displays the team’s confidence.
Guarantees in Goff’s four-year, $212MM extension stretch to 2027, with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reporting the contract includes $113.6MM guaranteed at signing. The actual guarantee number will probably check in much higher, as practical guarantees check in at $148.6MM. A rolling guarantee structure akin to what the Chiefs used with Patrick Mahomes is present in this deal.
After two fully guaranteed years (2024-25), the Lions guaranteed $20MM of Goff’s $55MM 2026 base salary. The other $35MM of that salary will become fully guaranteed in 2025, Florio notes. This structure reappears in 2026, to a degree. Goff’s $50MM 2027 base salary features $22MM guaranteed for injury at signing, Florio adds. Of that $22MM, $18MM shifts from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee a year early. The other $4MM becomes guaranteed in 2027. Goff’s 2028 base salary ($39MM) is nonguaranteed; a $7MM roster bonus will be due ahead of Goff’s age-34 season.
Much of Goff’s guarantee will come via a $73MM signing bonus, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer. That figure prorating through 2028 will increase the dead money Detroit would incur by bailing on this deal early. In terms of full guarantees, Goff’s deal ranks fifth — behind Watson, Burrow, Jackson and Herbert — but the guarantee structure will assuredly see the former top pick tied to this contract through at least 2026. Among QBs who signed only a four-year deal, no one has done better in terms of guarantees. The players above Goff in terms of total guarantees each signed five- or six-year extensions.
The 2027 vesting date will become key if the Lions have second thoughts about a player whose value had plummeted in his final Rams years. The Rams sent the Lions an extra first-round pick so they would absorb Goff’s previous contract. As Detroit brass insisted Goff — whom Lions GM Brad Holmes helped draft when he was the Rams’ college scouting director — was not a bridge QB, the team passed on adding a passer early in the 2021 and ’22 drafts. This extension effectively ensures 2023 third-rounder Hendon Hooker, whose rookie deal runs through 2026, will not have a viable path to a starting job in Michigan.
Despite Goff’s struggles between Super Bowl LIII through a 3-13-1 2021 Lions season, the NFC North franchise will trust the form the resurgent QB has shown in his late 20s under OC Ben Johnson will continue if/when the promising play-caller departs for a head coaching job. For now, Goff and Johnson will continue to work together — and the QB will do so armed with a much better contract.
I like Goff. I like his story. There’s some redemption there. The fact that his contract is in Joe Burrow territory? Insane.
He’s more durable than Burrow
With more playoff games as well.
He hasn’t won any either.
You have to win a couple to get to the Superbowl…or NFC Championship.
They’ve both had similar playoff success, actually. I’m not saying that Goff is as talented straight up as Burrow, or even directly comparing them, but we should a knowledge that they do actually have similar results, for what that’s worth. Goff’s 5-4, and Burrow’s 5-2. Not an enormous gap.
That is kind of like saying the tires on your car are more durable than tires on a race car. Both are subjected to significantly different forces. I doubt Goff would hold up any better than Burrows has if sacked as often. Likewise, you afford Burrows the time & protection Goff has had over last 2 seasons and his numbers would likely be league leading.
Goff is a great fit on this team but arguably somewhere around 8th-10th in overall QB talent.
When exactly was the time when the Lions could have signed Burrows instead of Goff to such an extension? If the answer is by some chance “never”, the comparison might not be too helpful.
Gruß,
BSHH
You completely missed the point.
Well, I had Goff and Stroud as my fantasy team guys last season but now that Jared has got himself a huge payday will he be as hungry and effective?
I don’t play fantasy, but I’d say that as long as Johnson is there, Goff should be effective. Maybe last year will end up being his best (outside of his 2018 season), or maybe he and Detroit will improve, but I expect them to at least be effective.
My real question is actually how sustainable this will be after Johnson inevitably leaves next year. Is this something that Goff has taken unto himself in Detroit, or does he need a hand in Johnson to call it? I hope for the former, but that’s the question I’d like to see answered.
It’s not like Goff was making vet minimum
He was highest paid Lion since he walked in the door. He was still around Top 12/Top 15 highest paid QBs before this extension
IE… why would *this* extension make him “complacent”? If anything I’d think the original Rams extension would have been the one, and that didn’t happen
To be a professional athlete, ESPECIALLY a starting QB where your mental strengths are as important as your physical ones, you aren’t motivated by one singular thing like money — especially when you’ve already made 150m in your career
There are plenty of examples of players regressing a bit after getting the big payday but every situation is unique so we will just have to see where this goes. I think the coaches started gaining a lot of confidence in the rookie Jahmyr Gibbs towards the end of the year so the Lions may be passing less this season.
Goff hasn’t needed to worry about money in awhile. This contract will change nothing.
Yeah we are old school and love to run it down teams throats with the jumbo packages we saw some last year and overall scheme.
I loved when we all knew we were running the ball and still couldn’t be stopped.
Goff’s deal seems a little rich, but I am happy we aren’t looking for a QB and in two years I’m sure contract won’t look bad and I like only 3 years guaranteed.
I guess that Rams Lions deal worked for both parties. The Rams went completely all in for a championship and they got it but now like the trade was designed for the Lions got a more long term qb of the future plus a couple first rounders. I’m not a Lions fan but I’m happy to see them being a real contender those fans deserve it. Good team culture I suspect they’ll be good for a number of years going forward
Yeah, hope the Rams are enjoying that *championship.