Lions' Jared Goff becomes second-highest-paid QB in NFL

Jared Goff has become the latest Lion to secure a monster extension. Detroit’s franchise quarterback has agreed to terms on a four-year, $212M pact, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

Schefter adds this pact includes $170M in guaranteed money, an enormous up-front investment on the team’s part. Goff is now the highest-paid player in Lions history. The former Rams No. 1 pick has enjoyed a career resurrection in Detroit, and his tenure there will now continue for the foreseeable future. This contract runs through 2027 with an option for the following season, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

This agreement carries an annual average value of $53M, which slots Goff into second in the NFL in that regard. Only Joe Burrow‘s Bengals extension is more lucrative in terms of AAV ($55M). Goff will now join Burrow, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts as members of the $50M-per-year club. Considering his age, that marks a notable development to say the least.

Goff will turn 30 in October, making him an outlier compared to the four aforementioned passers, each of whom signed their mega-pacts as second NFL contracts. This will be Goff’s third pact, as 2024 marks the final season of the four-year, $134M Rams deal he inked in 2019. Given the eruption in the top of the QB market and the surges the salary cap has experienced since, it comes as little surprise Goff has managed to secure a much larger investment this time around.

The turning point of his career, of course, is the blockbuster trade which sent him from Los Angeles to Detroit. The Rams paid a massive price to offload Goff’s pact and take on Matthew Stafford in return. The latter has since helped the team win a Super Bowl, but Goff has delivered strong showings of his own during his three years in the Motor City.

The Cal product posted a 29:7 touchdown-to-interception in 2022, earning a Pro Bowl nod along the way. While the Lions fell short of a playoff berth that season, Goff did enough to put himself on the extension radar. Over the course of this past season, he racked up 30 touchdowns and 4,575 yards (although his INT total rose to 12 and he lost four fumbles). With Detroit winning the NFC North and reaching the conference title game, Goff was one of several extension priorities on the offensive side of the ball.

Wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown and right tackle Penei Sewell both agreed to monster deals of their own recently. The former (briefly) took the top spot in terms of AAV amongst receivers on a deal averaging just over $30M per season. The latter, meanwhile, inked the largest deal ever given to a left or right tackle ($28M per year). Given the QB position’s value, a Goff deal of any kind would have checked in at a much higher rate, which helps explain the gap between the St. Brown and Sewell deals being finalized and today’s news.

Lions GM Brad Holmes recently admitted the Goff deal would have ideally been in place earlier, but he echoed his confidence that an agreement would be reached soon. Obviously, that sentiment has proven to be accurate. Detroit drafted Hendon Hooker as a potential successor to Goff last season, but it will take an injury for him to see the field any time soon.

With a well-regarded o-line and a skill-position group which was augmented by rookies Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta last season, expectations will remain high for the Lions on offense moving forward. Goff will remain a key member of the unit for years to come as the team aims to duplicate the success of 2023.