Jaguars agree to extension with two-time Pro Bowl LB

Allen, who had gone through a three-year dry spell without a 10-plus-sack season, surged for a Jaguars-record 17.5 sacks in 2023. That was not enough to lift Jacksonville back to the playoffs. But it is enough to make him the NFL’s second $30M-per-year edge-rusher. 

Allen’s $30M-AAV contract checks in behind only Nick Bosa‘s $34M-per-year pact at the position. This contract doubles as a Jaguars franchise record.

The Giants’ Brian Burns extension looks to have played a key role in the Allen negotiations moving across the goal line. Upon trading for the five-year Panthers pass-rusher, the Giants gave him a five-year, $141M deal with $87.5M guaranteed. (While Burns’ deal was initially reported to be worth $150M, incentives cover $9M in the accord.) 

Allen, who went off the board nine picks earlier than Burns in 2019, will come in just north of those marks to split the difference between Bosa and the field.

In terms of total guarantees — the full guarantees, always the more important number, is not yet known — Allen’s deal comes in behind only Bosa and Myles Garrett among edge players.

Allen’s extension marks the sixth given to a franchise-tagged player this year, and it comes three days after the Patriots became the first team in over a decade to extend a transition-tagged player (Kyle Dugger). 

Of the nine players who received a tag in March, seven are now extended. Only Tee Higgins and Antoine Winfield Jr. remain tagged.

Teams had inquired about Allen at the 2022 trade deadline, but the Jaguars held onto the Kentucky alum despite unremarkable numbers. Allen produced 7.5 sacks on just 14 QB hits in 2021, and while his number of QB hits ballooned to 22 in 2022, the sack count closed at seven. 

Last season, Allen erupted for 33 hits. His 17.5 sacks broke Calais Campbell‘s single-season Jags record (14.5) set in 2017. This was not enough to save DC Mike Caldwell‘s job, but as the Jags made changes up front, they prioritized Allen — so much so it meant losing Calvin Ridley to the Titans.

GM Trent Baalke said after the season the Jags viewed Allen as their top priority, and the tag ensured he would not reach the market. This is standard practice with high-end, young edge-rushers, and it made sense on multiple fronts for the Jags to tag Allen (27 in July) over the 29-year-old Ridley. 

The trade terms with the Falcons made it difficult for the Jags to reach a contract agreement with Ridley before the new league year started. The Jags still tried to re-sign the 2022 trade acquisition, but the Titans ended up blowing both their AFC South rivals and the Patriots out of the water. While Ridley is gone, Allen is now locked in long-term.

The Jags have used the tag each year in the 2020s; Allen marks the third player extended, following Cam Robinson and Evan Engram. Jacksonville used the tag on Yannick Ngakoue in 2020, but the situation simmered to the point a late-summer trade (with the Vikings) came about. 

No real drama surfaced here, with Allen agreeing to terms more than three months before the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign extensions.

Allen’s deal aligns with Travon Walker‘s rookie contract, to a degree, with the 2022 No. 1 overall pick signed through 2025. He can be kept through 2026 via the fifth-year option, though the Georgia alum — chosen over Aidan Hutchinson — has not shown just yet that will be an easy decision for the Jags. 

This Allen contract, however, will most likely be paired with a monster Trevor Lawrence extension. The Jags have begun negotiations with their quarterback on what promises to be the top contract in franchise history. Although the former No. 1 pick could be kept on his rookie contract until 2025 via the option, teams generally extend QBs after Year 3.

Big deals for Allen and Lawrence on the payroll will mark a new roster-building phase for the Jaguars. With Allen agreeing to a deal, the first part of that blueprint is complete.