Will Anderson Extension Price Skyrocketing for Texans

The Houston Texans have been busy as it pertains to locking up a few of their key roster cornerstones on new contracts and extensions throughout the 2026 offseason thus far, but one glaring priority still remains in the form of putting pen to paper on a new deal for Will Anderson Jr.

By all accounts, the Texans and Anderson seem more than likely to come to that agreement sooner rather than later, and likely before the start of next season.

But when it comes to just how much the Texans are going to pay their First-Team All-Pro rusher, it seems like the price for his services keeps on trending up.

In a recent batch of rumors laid out by Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, he notes that it would be a "stunner" if Anderson signed for anything less than $50 million per season, comparing the situation to what Houston dealt with last year in the case of Derek Stingley.

"With Anderson, the question really is the price point... it would be a stunner if Anderson went for less than $50 million per year, and the Texans showed last year with Derek Stingley Jr. that they have a desire to get these deals done early," Breer wrote.

"Yes, that price sounds wild, but the market isn’t going to reverse itself, and this is a guy who is legitimately the standard as a worker and a player that head coach DeMeco Ryans wants to set."

Will Anderson Now Going for $50M/Yr?

While it's no secret that the Texans are bound to hand Anderson a massive paycheck, to hear that anything smaller than $50 million would be a shock is bit of a shift from the $40 million number that had previously been reported from the likes of Tom Pelissero.

But the logic makes sense. The Texans haven't been shy of paying steep, record-setting contracts across multiple positions throughout recent history, whether it be in the case of Stingley last offseason, or even Ka'imi Fairbairn, who became the league's highest-paid kicker with his new extension just a few weeks ago.

Anderson, who fills one of the most critical roles on the Texans' defense, feels likely to have a similar turnout, and as a result, should be in line to top Micah Parsons' $46.5 million AAV, which currently sits atop the league's edge rusher annual salaries.