The Dallas Cowboys ended their stalemate with Demarcus Lawrence—giving him a long-term extension. Previously, the Cowboys placed the franchise tag on Lawrence earlier this offseason.
It was going to be the second consecutive season that DeMarcus Lawrence was set to play on the franchise tag. Both sides didn't want to see him remain on the franchise tag and ultimately got a deal done.
The deal is worth $105 million over the course of five years. The contract also includes $65 million in guarantees—$15 million more than Aaron Donald and $5 million more than Khalil Mack.
DeMarcus Lawrence deserves every penny of this deal—as he's been a driving force on the Cowboys' defense for the past few seasons now. Since becoming the starter in 2015, Lawrence has come away with 34.5 sacks, 46 tackles for loss, 67 quarterback hits, and eight forced fumbles.
As a result, his production landed him a multi-million dollar contract with Dallas. In addition, this contract extension affects more than just Lawrence himself.
When Donald signed his lucrative extension with the Los Angeles Rams, it raised the price for Mack. A few days later, Mack became the highest-paid defensive player in NFL History.
Likewise, the same is likely going to happen with DeMarcus Lawrence as it pertains to Frank Clark and Jadeveon Clowney. Clark and Clowney—like Lawrence—were given the franchise tags by their respective franchises earlier this offseason.
Neither has landed a deal yet with their organizations but one could be coming after the Lawrence news. Both players should've been celebrating—along with Lawrence—knowing their price probably went up.
First, let's take a look at Clark. Clark has spent four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. In the same span as Lawrence, Clark has 35 sacks, 35 tackles for loss, 72 quarterback hits, and eight forced fumbles.
Those numbers bode well for Clark to receive a similar or even better extension than the Cowboys Pro Bowl defensive end. The Seahawks will have decisions to make as they also need to give Russell Wilson a new extension soon.
As we all know, quarterbacks are the most important position for a football team so Clark may need to wait to receive his hefty payday. Nonetheless, Lawrence's contract with the Cowboys should have Clark saying “Show me the money” as Jerry Maguire did.
Now, onto Clowney and the Houston Texans. Clowney also had the franchise tag placed on him, with the Texans hoping they can secure him long-term.
Similarly to Lawrence and Clark, Clowney became the starter in 2015. Since then, Clowney has 29 sacks, 64 tackles for loss, 67 quarterback hits, and four forced fumbles.
It's crazy how similar all of these guys stats and careers have aligned with each other. Furthermore, their contracts will all likely align similarly to each other as well.
The Lawrence deal was the first domino to fall—setting up Clark and Clowney alike to receive rewarding contract extensions.
Most NFL players don't like having their negotiations run into the NFL season so both contract talks could be plated until next offseason. Regardless, both should expect a Brinks truck to be backed into their driveways soon (figuratively, not literally).
Like Antonio Brown once said: business is booming. But only this time, it's pass rushers reaping the benefits.
Follow Us
Subscribe