Why the Lions still haven't signed Aidan Hutchinson to his big extension despite everyone else getting their paydays, it's not what you think

The Detroit Lions will play their first game of the season on Sunday, and the big thing that everyone expected to happen this offseason has not happened yet. That's edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson getting his massive extension.

It feels like everyone else is getting theirs. T.J. Watt got a new deal from the Steelers, Micah Parsons got a mega deal from the Packers, Zach Allen got his deal with the Broncos and then Nik Bonnito got paid too. What is taking so long with the Lions and Hutchinson?

Why the Lions haven't paid Aidan Hutchinson yet

What we know at this time is that a dialogue is taking place and it's ongoing, according to both Lions GM Brad Holmes and Hutchinson himself. So it's not like both sides aren't communicating. Some might think that it has something to do with the Lions wanting to see Hutchinson in a game and fully recovered from his leg injury, but that doesn't make a lot of sense when you consider the summer he just had in which the team created the "Hutch rule" which means they don't blow the whistle every time he's about to get a sack because they don't want to have to keep stopping the play over and over again.

In reality, it's much simpler than that. It has to do with Hutchinson's agent, Mike McCartney ofVayner Sports. He has a history of getting these things done later. The best example comes from another Lions player he represents, Alim McNeill. He didn’t sign his extension until last October. If you remember back to last summer, there was a lot of talk about McNeill getting an extension before the summer ended. It ultimately didn't happen until almost winter time.

There are more examples of McCartney getting things done later for his clients. He got T.J. Lang his extension with the Packers in August during training camp in 2012. Then there’s Evan Engram. He got his extension with the Jaguars in July. Haloti Ngata got his five-year extension with the Ravens in June. Sean Lee signed his extension in August of 2013.

McCartney has two other players from the 2022 NFL Draft who are still waiting to get their big deals in Ikem Ekwonu, who was the sixth overall pick that year, and has been the Panthers' starting left tackle ever since. Then there's Boye Mafe, who was a second-round pick that year. He's been really solid for the Seahawks.

Neither of those guys is on Hutchinson's level, but they're both deserving of an extension, and there have been talks for both of them. It's just another example of how McCartney seems to take a little bit longer getting his clients deals.

From his standpoint, why not right? At this point, the edge market has been totally reset by Parsons and Watt's big deals, and Hutchinson is in the top dog spot when it comes to being the guy to reset the market again. The patience from McCartney has essentially taken Hutchinson's deal from the $40 million a year area to the $50 million a year area. He's very likely to be the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. McCartney may be getting himself more clients after this deal.