Philly Front Office

As the NFL Salary cap consistently goes up, so will NFL contracts. Over the next two years you will see records fall at every position. It’s just the nature of the NFL. Since the offseason is agonizingly long, each week I will profile a different position to tell you who is the next man up for the Biggest NFL Contract. This week: Offensive Tackle.

Quarterback
EDGE
Offensive Tackle
Defensive Tackle: July 1
Wide Receiver: July 8
Cornerback: July 15
Guard, Center, Tight End: July 22
Safety, Linebacker, Special Teams: July 29

The Next Biggest NFL Contract Series

The Eagles have been very lucky to have not one but usually two dominant offensive tackles for most of my life. While Lane Johnson has regularly been at the top of the right tackle market, Jordan Mailata has twice now signed early extensions at discounts in order to give both the team and himself stability. There is still three years left on his deal, but it is never too early to start looking at the next one. There’s a strong chance he will be the highest paid LT in the NFL. Where might that contract land? Let’s look at the current leaderboard:

The Next Biggest NFL Contract: Quarterback

AAV – Laremy Tunsil – $30.1m

Three times now Tunsil has gone with a smaller contract in terms of length to maximize his per year earnings. Washington traded for Tunsil last year but signed him to a top of the market extension in March, when he signed for 2 years and $60.2m in new money while guaranteeing $61.5m (how is that possible? Well, NFL contracts are weird). His $30.1m average annual value (AAV) places him at the top of the heap, just ahead of the three guys who represent the real top of the market but signed longer term deals, Penei Sewell, Rashawn Slater, and Tristan Wirfs.

Total Value – Tristan Wirfs – $140.6m

Sewell rewrote the OT market when he signed his 4/$112m contract in April 2024. This was well ahead of Tunsil’s previous deal of 3/$75m. Sewell became the highest everything when the deal was signed. Of course, what happens when you sign first? You become the new target. Later that offseason, Wirfs took the $28m that Sewell was making, sprinkled a one hundred twenty grand on each season, and then said to throw another year on the backend. He ended up with a 5/$140.6m contract. Since most players do not sign for 5 seasons, this stands to remain the high mark for a little while.

Total Guarantee – Rashawn Slater – $92m

Sewell went first in the extension game despite being drafted in 2021. Wirfs was drafted in 2020. Slater was part of the 2021 draft class, but waited an extra year to sign his extension. While this could have been the natural progression of negotiations, Slater was also going through a divorce at that time. Shortly after the marriage ended, Slater signed a 4/$114m deal with the Chargers that put him just ahead of both Sewell and Wirfs in terms of AAV and beating Sewell for largest 4-year contract. In doing so, he also topped their guarantees of $85m for Sewell and $88.24m for Wirfs. Slater received $92m.

The Ever-Increasing NFL Salary Cap

Who’s Next?

The 2022 draft is mostly settled at this point. Charles Cross signed a big extension with the Seahawks (4/$104m), Bernhard Raimann signed with the Colts (4/$100m), and Zach Tom signed with the Packers (4/$88m) but that’s been it for that year’s tackles. #6 pick Ikem Ekwonu is playing out his 5th year option with the Panthers, but he isn’t likely to break any records if he reaches a new agreement.

The 2023 Draft is now eligible for extensions. So far, none of the five 1st round tackles have signed. Could anyone here be looking at the top of the market? Probably not. No one from the class has even made it to a Pro Bowl and only right tackle Darnell Wright has been selected to an All Pro team (2nd in 2025). What I’m getting at is that none of them have stood out, unlike the guys from the 2022 draft.

The 2024 Draft was known for its offensive tackles with 8 going in the first round. While they aren’t eligible for extensions until next season, Joe Alt looks like the best bet to top the market if he can stay healthy. Of the rest, a lot can change over a third season, with at least one of the big group a good bet to break out.

That brings us to the vets. Andrew Thomas signed a 5/$117.5m contract back in 2023 and is dominant when he plays, but he has missed 15 games over the last two seasons. A healthy season could see him break all the contract records next offseason at 28 years old. Dion Dawkins is older at 32, but he could see the Bills give him a Tunsil like deal next year. After them, the market could turn back to Penei Sewell and Wirfs as they will be a few years into their extensions at that point with no more guaranteed money remaining.

Speaking of no more guaranteed money, this brings us to Jordan Mailata. His cap hit is around $16m this season but rises to just over $18m and then nearly $20m after that. Those are still very manageable, but the Eagles will probably try to lock him up to another extension before everyone above gets to the table. He just turned 29 by the way and the Eagles have a history of taking care of their elite guys.

NFL Salary Cap 101

Contract Terms

What would a Mailata extension look like? The good news is that the Eagles will likely not see any changes to the market before next March at the earliest. If Mailata just wants to be paid well but not at the top, he could see a 3/$75m deal without much negotiation. I think he goes higher though. Considering he has 3 years left on his contract right now, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the team take him over Tunsil to right around $31m per season over 3 years: 3/$93m. I don’t know if they would do that before this season starts or during the season, but it would give him guaranteed money over the next 3 years while keeping him with the Eagles well into his 30s (6 more years total) and further spreading out his cap hit.

As for Sewell, he is the best bet to break all of the records. The Lions may be strapped for cash, but Sewell is probably their best overall player and most important. Expect him to take the market up a notch to around $35m per season, and likely challenging Wirfs $140m total value record. Let’s call it 4/$141m, $35.25m per season, with around $105m guaranteed.

Contracts: Spotrac

Photo:  Mitchell Leff/Getty Images