Detroit Lions and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson agreed to a four-year contract extension worth US$180 million. CBS Sports Senior Reporter Matt Zenitz. The deal includes a guaranteed amount of $141 million, a record for any non-defensive player.
At $45 million per year, Hutchinson becomes the second highest paid non-defensive player by average annual salary; only Micah Parsonswho was shockingly traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Dallas Cowboys. Green Bay Packers and then signed an extension with Green Bay before the season, averaging more ($46.5 million).
Highest paid edge rushers
| Player | Average Annual Value (AAV) |
|---|---|
| Micah Parsons | $46.5 million |
| Aidan Hutchinson | $45 million |
| TJ Watt | $41 million |
| Myles Garrett | $40 million |
| Daniel Hunter | $35.6 million |
| Max Crosby | $35.5 million |
| Nick Bosa | $34 million |
Hutchinson, 25, quickly became a superstar in the Motor City. He finished second in NFL Voted Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, made the Pro Bowl with 11.5 sacks in 2023 and led the team in scoring. NFL with 7.5 sacks through six weeks of the 2024 season before he suffered fracture of the tibia and fibula at the end of the season during dismissal Dak Prescott belonging Dallas Cowboys.
He immediately returned to form in 2025. His 6.9 pressures per game leads the league. NFLas did his four forced fumbles. He also ranks top 10 in the league in sacks (six) and pressure rate (19.2%). Since the start of last season, he is averaging 1.13 sacks per game, tops in the NFL, and is the only player averaging more than one sack per game.
His rise coincided with the rise of the Lions as a whole. In Hutchinson's four seasons in Detroit, the Lions are 41-17, fourth-best in the NFL. In the previous four seasons, the Lions were 17-46-2;worst NFL record.
Hutchinson is also something of a hometown hero. He was born and raised in Plymouth, Michigan, which is west of Detroit, and starred at Michigan, where he won top-10 Defensive Player of the Year and several national awards and was named a 2021 All-American selection.
