Jack Campbell earned a first-team All-Pro selection in 2025, cementing his status as one of the best linebackers in football. His new four-year, $81MM contract rewarded him accordingly, though his $20.25MM AAV still trails Fred Warner, who makes $21MM per year.
At 25 years old, Campbell certainly had a case to surpass the 49ers veteran. Though the Lions declined his $21.9MM fifth-year option (for the 2027 season), the former first-round pick could have driven a hard bargain and at least eclipsed Warner’s annual pay. But that was not his priority.
“I feel like for me I don’t need to be the highest paid,” Campbell said before apologizing to other players at his position who would have benefitted from a market reset. The linebacker market has barely moved in the last few years – in fact, in terms of percentage of salary cap, teams are paying linebackers less. That often requires a young, elite player to push for a record-breaking sum on his second contract. Campbell fit the bill, and beyond him, there may not be another chance until 2025 second-rounder and Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger is extension-eligible…in 2028.
“But I just feel like for me I knew what I wanted in this,” Campbell added (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “I want to help the team in any ways possible just to continue to keep the core together. So I mean, at the end of the day I feel like it was fair for the team and I’m more than happy with everything that they’ve blessed me with.”
Among Campbell’s blessings are an $8.6MM signing bonus and fully guaranteed salaries in 2026 and 2027, worth $2.4MM. His $11.89MM option bonus due next year is also guaranteed, per OverTheCap. Campbell also is eligible for $100k workout bonuses in each of the next four offseasons.
Overall, though, Campbell’s contract is exceedingly team-friendly. He will only receive $22.9MM over the first two years of the deal with no guaranteed money past 2027. His option bonuses – worth $18.85MM in 2028, $5MM in 2029, and $15.4MM in 2030 – are essentially team options. Theoretically, Detroit could get out of the deal and pay Campbell $43.05MM through three years or $63.5MM through four. Both resulting AAVs are far below the annual $20.25MM sticker price of his deal.
With that structure in mind, it certainly seems that Campbell could have pushed for a better deal, whether that meant a market-setting AAV for linebackers or a more advantageous payment structure. It remains to be seen if fellow 2023 first-rounder Jahmyr Gibbs will be willing to take a similarly team-friendly deal, or if he will aim higher for a reset of the running back market.