You can go ahead and chalk up one more win for Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht this offseason.
The Bucs' GM and 2023 first-team All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. reportedly reached an agreement on a long-term contract extension, per NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport and multiple other outlets.
Sources: The #Bucs and All-Pro S Antoine Winfield Jr have struck a deal and for the first time in NFL history, the highest paid DB is a safety!
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 13, 2024
Winfield gets a 4-year contract worth $84.1M with $45M fully guaranteed in a deal done by @DavidMulugheta of @AthletesFirst. pic.twitter.com/mU1yyHwe27
The deal is reported to be for 4 years at $84.1 million with $48 million guaranteed. That comes in at an average annual value of just over $21 million per season. That eclipses the previous top annual contract value by j$2 million dollars. The previous high was $19 million/year by Derwin James, who signed a $76.5 million contract extension with the Chargers back in August 2022. $19 million to $21 million is pretty substantial jump as far as top of the market deals.
But hey, that's the price you pay for a player that had a historically good season in 2023. Winfield, Jr. was the only player since 1999 (when stats became available) that tallied 100+ tackles, 3+ interceptions, 3+ forced fumbles, 3+ fumbles recoveries, and 3+ sacks in a season. All he did was make impact plays, and the Buccaneers absolutely aren't in the playoffs without him.
As such, the deal was certainly a warranted one. And it was a bit of an outlier in the NFL free agent market landscape for this offseason. Until today, the top deal this offseason had been Xavier McKinney, who signed a 4-year, $68.5 million deal with the Green Bay Packers back in March ($16.750 million average annual value).
Other teams have been unwilling to sign many of the top remaining free agent names on the market, including Justin Simmons, Quandre Diggs, Eddie Jackson, and Jamal Adams. And the ones that have signed outside of McKinney haven't been near the top of the market in value (Kevin Byard $7.5 million AAV to the Bears; Chauncey Gardner-Johnson $9 million AAV to the Eagles).
However, this contract was a no brainer for the Buccaneers, who simply had to keep their best defender in the building. And they did just that by paying him what he proved unequivocally he was worth during the 2023 season.
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