Giants give massive contract to Dexter Lawrence amid talks with Saquon Barkley

It was a busy offseason for the New York Giants right up to the franchise tag deadline. They had to decide the futures of Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley with both players about to hit free agency. The front office was only able to extend the quarterback at that time.

Barkley has been in contract talks for a while now after playing under the fifth-year option in 2022. The team reportedly made him an offer during the season, although the star running back declined it looking for more money.

He is currently waiting to sign the franchise tag, so he isn’t forced to attend the offseason program. However, the Giants did make a huge move on Thursday extending Dexter Lawrence with an impressive contract.

Dexter Lawrence’s contract

New York had a decent performance on defense last season despite not having superstars on that side of the ball. Their top player was supposed to be Leonard Williams, but he was surpassed by a breakout year from the 2019 first-round pick.

Lawrence received a four-year deal worth 90 million dollars. The contract includes 60M guaranteed, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. He was not going to participate in the voluntary activities being in a contract year, although the former Clemson Tiger was able to capitalize his 7.5-sack season.

Who is the highest paid DT?

With this mega deal he now ranks very high among defensive tackles. Lawrence is behind only Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams in terms of guarantees, per Spotrac. His second place is also shared with Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs. The new contract also puts him third in annual average value, right after Donald and Jeffery Simmons of the Tennessee Titans.

Top 10 highest paid DT by AAV

1- Aaron Donald – Los Angeles Rams – $31,666,667
2- Jeffery Simmons – Tennessee Titans – $23,500,000
T3- Dexter Lawrence – New York Giants – $22,500,000
T3- Daron Payne – Washington Commanders – $22,500,000
T5- DeForest Buckner – Indianapolis Colts – $21,000,000
T5- Javon Hargrave – San Francisco 49ers – $21,000,000
7- Chris Jones – Kansas City Chiefs – $20,000,000
8- Jonathan Allen – Washington Commanders – $18,000,000
9- Vita Vea – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $17,750,000
10- Kenny Clark – Green Bay Packers – $17,500,000