Players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft became eligible to sign contract extensions on Jan. 6, a day after the 2024 regular season ended. This three-season waiting period on draft picks signing new deals started with the 2011 draft class as a part of the rookie wage scale implemented in the 2011 NFL collective bargaining agreement. Since the deals for draft choices are four years in length, 2025 is a contract year for 2022 draftees.
The exception is first-round picks because NFL teams have an option for a fifth year that must be exercised no later than May 2 in the four year of the rookie contract. This means there isn’t a sense of urgency to extend the contracts of first-round picks when the fifth-year option is picked up. There are two years remaining on such rookie contracts. Because of this, only a few first-round picks sign multi-year extensions before the start of or early in their fourth NFL season.
It was a banner year for first-round picks getting early contract extensions in 2024. Six players selected during the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft who had fifth-year options exercised received extensions last year after playing just three NFL seasons, which tied a record for the most new deals with the 2017 first-round class.
Since 2011 first-round picks initially became eligible for new contracts in 2014, 35 first-rounders over 11 draft classes have signed extensions within this timeframe. That’s an average of 3.2 extensions per year.
Surprisingly, none of the 2014 first-round picks signed extensions in 2017 despite containing NFL Defensive Player of Year award winners — defensive tackle Aaron Donald and edge rusher Khalil Mack — as well as nine-time All-Pro offensive guard Zack Martin. Donald held out from the Los Angeles Rams for most of the 2017 preseason trying to get a new deal before returning to play under the fourth year of his rookie contract.
The 35 do not include situations like with 2017 20th overall pick Garett Bolles or 2018 12th overall pick Vita Vea. The Denver Broncos declined the fifth year option for Bolles. The offensive tackle got a new deal from the Broncos 10 games into Denver’s 2020 regular season. The Buccaneers didn’t sign Vea, a defensive tackle, to a new deal until a day before the 2021 regular season ended.
2022 first-round early extension candidates
The Houston Texans got the ball rolling in March on 2022 first-round pick extensions. 2022 third-overall pick Derek Stingley Jr. massively reset the cornerback market, which was long overdue. He signed a three-year, $90 million extension averaging $30 million per year with a defensive back record $89,026,026 in guarantees. The Texans didn’t have to pick up Stingley’s $17.595 million fifth-year option for 2026, which was going to be a no-brainer, because the deal happened so quickly.
Based on history, at least two more 2022 first-round picks should get new deals before the regular season starts in September. The season opener for most NFL teams is Sept. 7. The most logical candidates to get early extensions are below.
No. 1 pick: Travon Walker, EDGE, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars are reportedly open to extending Walker’s contract sooner rather than later. Walker is coming off back-to-back double-digit sack seasons with 10.0 and 10.5, respectively, in 2023 and 2024. It’s something that Josh Hines-Allen has never done during his six-year tenure with the Jaguars.
Hines-Allen signed a five-year, $141.25 million contract averaging $28.25 million per year in 2024 after being designated as a franchise player. He was coming off a 2023 season in which he set a franchise record with 17.5 sacks. Incentives make Hines-Allen’s deal worth as much as $150 million. The deal has $88 million in guarantees where $76 million was fully guaranteed at signing.
The league’s highest-paid edge rusher was Nick Bosa with the $34 million-per-year extension he received from the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 when Hines-Allen signed. Considering there are now three edge rushers at or above $35 million per year with more to follow, the Jaguars may be hard-pressed to get Walker to take anything less than the $30 million-per-year maximum value of
Hines-Allen’s deal.
No. 2 pick: Aidan Hutchinson, EDGE, Detroit Lions
Lions president Rod Wood said Hutchinson was going to be in Detroit for the “long haul” during a pre-draft event in April. The long haul could come before the 2025 regular season starts with Hutchinson recently being fully cleared for football activities from the broken fibula and tibia in his left leg that ended his 2024 season after five games.
The Lions have a history of being proactive with All-Pro caliber first-round picks, which bodes well for Hutchinson. Newly retired Frank Ragnow signed a four-year contract extension in May 2021 after his third NFL season that made him the league’s highest-paid center. Offensive tackle Penei Sewell didn’t play under his rookie contract for a fourth year. He received a four-year extension last April, a day before the 2024 NFL Draft, putting him at the top of the offensive lineman salary hierarchy.
Hutchinson was the leading candidate to be the 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year when he got hurt. At the time, Hutchinson had a league-leading 7.5 sacks and 45 quarterback pressures in only five games.
Just as impressive was Hutchinson 38.3% in Pro Football Focus’ pass rush win rate metric. To put Hutchinson’s win rate into perspective, Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett’s 23.1% pass rush win rate was PFF’s best for the entire 2024 season. Garrett became the NFL’s first $40 million-per-year non-quarterback in March with a four-year, $160 million extension. The perennial All-Pro’s contract has non-quarterback records of $123,596,125 in overall guarantees and $88.8 million fully guaranteed at signing.
If Hutchinson is treated like Ragnow and Sewell, he should become the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback when he signs his new deal. That distinction currently belongs to Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. He signed a four-year, $161 million extension averaging $40.25 million per year in March.
No. 4 pick: Sauce Gardner, CB, New York Jets
The Jets have begun extension talks with Gardner’s camp according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. How smoothly negotiations go will depend on the weight the Jets put on Gardner’s 2024 season.
It was a down season by Gardner’s standards after he was selected as a first-team All-Pro in each of his first two NFL campaigns. The 2022 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year didn’t earn Pro Bowl or All-Pro honors for the first time in his NFL career last season.
Gardner likely views Stingley’s $30 million-per-year deal as his salary floor. The Jets having a different opinion could delay Gardner’s new contract until 2026. Gardner having a bounce-back season in 2025 would make resetting the cornerback market a certainty next offseason.
No. 8 pick: Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons have a history of waiting until a first-round pick is entering his contract year to do an extension. London had career highs of 100 receptions, 1,271 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches in 2024.
It may make sense for the Falcons to revisit this approach in light of the rapport London quickly established with 2024’s eight overall pick Michael Penix Jr., who started the final three games at quarterback last season. In Penix’s starts, London caught 22 balls for 352 yards with two touchdowns.
Coming close to sustaining that type of production for 17 games would give London a season that rivals Julio Jones, who is the best wide receiver in Falcons history, during his prime. The Falcons would be looking at signing London to a deal in 2026 that would likely be closer to Chase at the top of the wide receiver market than the four-year, $120 million extension averaging $30 million per year with $76 million of guarantees Brandon Aiyuk received from the 49ers last September.
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No. 10 pick: Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets
Fowler also reported that the Jets have initiated contract discussions with Wilson. The 2022 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has topped 1,000 receiving yards in each of his three professional seasons.
Wilson recently received music to his ears from new Jets head coach Aaron Glenn: The plan is to get the ball to Wilson as much as possible. As the focal point of the offense, Wilson should better the career highs of 101 receptions, 1,104 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches he had in 2024. Wilson breaking the Jets’ single-season marks Brandon Marshall posted in 2015 with 109 catches for 1,502 yards is a distinct possibility.
One thing Wilson doesn’t have to worry about is chemistry with new Jets quarterback Justin Fields, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract in March as an unrestricted free agent. Fields was Wilson’s quarterback at Ohio State during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Wilson surely took note of the four-year extension averaging nearly $33 million per year DK Metcalf signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in March as a part of his trade from the Seattle Seahawks. Given Wilson’s expected contribution, the Jets shouldn’t be surprised if he balks at taking less than Metcalf. Wilson being younger and more productive than Metcalf last season also cuts in his favor.
No. 14 pick: Kyle Hamilton, S, Baltimore Ravens
Hamilton isn’t in a rush to get a new contract. That’s a good thing for the Ravens because there are more pressing matters than extending Hamilton’s contract.
It’s going to cost Baltimore more by waiting to lock up Hamilton, who has earned All-Pro honors in each of the last two seasons, long term. Hamilton is the Swiss Army knife of the Baltimore defense because of his ability to line up at multiple positions.
Doing a deal with Hamilton may not be easy. The Ravens will want to limit negotiations to the safety market. The Lions made Kerby Joseph the NFL’s highest-paid safety at $21.25 million per year in late April with a four-year, $85 million extension. The deal is a slightly misleading because Joseph has $26 million in 2029, the final year of the contract. Hamilton is going to want to look at the defensive back market as a whole because of his versatility where cornerback contracts are also taken into consideration.
Just a little over a year ago, Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. became the NFL’s highest-paid defensive back when he signed a four-year, $84.1 million contract averaging $21.025 million per year. It was an anomaly to have a safety heading the defensive back pay scale. Nonetheless, Hamilton will probably want to significantly close the gap between the top of the cornerback and safety markets.
No. 21 pick: Trent McDuffie, CB, Kansas City Chiefs
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has a history of letting cornerbacks go than rather allocating significant resources to the position. Charvarius Ward left in 2022 free agency. L’Jarius Sneed was designated as a franchise player in 2024 so he could be traded (to the Tennessee Titans)
It should be a different story with McDuffie. He’s equally adept at playing on the outside and in the slot. McDuffie signing for more than the four-year, $100 million extension averaging $25 million and worth up to $108 million through salary escalators the Carolina Panthers gave Jaycee Horn in March wouldn’t be a surprise, especially if a new Gardner deal is already in the marketplace.
No. 25 pick: Tyler Linderbaum, C, Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens declined Linderbaum’s fifth-year option for 2026. The decision was related to cost, not performance. The intention is to retain Linderbaum long term, according to Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta.
The $23.402 million price, which was the 2025 franchise tag for offensive linemen, because Linderbaum has been named to the Pro Bowl on the original ballot in each of the last two seasons (2023 and 2024), didn’t reflect the center market. There aren’t specific option year salaries for centers, guard and tackle. The cost is same regardless of position, which means left tackles primarily determine the number. The NFL’s highest-paid center is Creed Humphrey with the four-year, $72 million extension averaging $18 million per year he received from the Chiefs last preseason.
A conversation about the NFL’s best centers can’t be had without Linderbaum figuring prominently in the discussion. He hasn’t allowed a sack since his rookie season in 2022.
Linderbaum is dealing from a position of strength without the threat of a franchise tag looming over any contract discussions about an extension. Absent a new deal, the Ravens surely won’t prevent Linderbaum from hitting the open market in 2026 with a franchise tag considering the decision about his option year. Keeping Linderbaum long term should require resetting the center market. Linderbaum becoming the NFL’s first $20 million-per-year center isn’t out of the question.
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Author: Joel Corry
June 4, 2025 | 2:20 pm
