The Tennessee Titans just made Kevin Byard the highest-paid safety in NFL history.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Titans have agreed to a five-year, $70.5 million contract extension with Byard, a deal that will pay him $31 million in guaranteed money.
Funny enough, Byard has the same agent (David Mulugheta) as fellow safeties Landon Collins and Earl Thomas, both of whom also landed lucrative deals in free agency this offseason.
Byard is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he played all 16 games and registered 90 tackles, a couple of sacks, four interceptions and eight passes defended.
The 25-year-old, who played his collegiate football at Middle Tennessee State, was originally selected by Tennessee in the third round (64th pick overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft.
He appeared in all 16 contests during his rookie year but only made seven starts, finishing with 51 tackles, a sack and four passes defended. Then, the following season, Byard had a breakout year, racking up 87 tackles, eight interceptions, a pair of fumble recoveries and 16 passes defended en route to a Pro Bowl appearance and a First-Team All-Pro selection.
Byard, who is yet to miss a game in his three-year NFL career, is an integral part of a stingy Titans defense that ranked eighth in the NFL this past season and allowed just 18.9 points per game, which was good for third in the league.
However, due to offensive issues, Tennessee won just nine games and missed the playoffs, losing a winner-take-all game to the Indianapolis Colts in the final week of the regular season.
Follow Us
Subscribe