Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett has agreed an NFL record contract extension worth $40m-a-year, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in history.
Garrett’s new deal is for four years with $123m in guaranteed money and answers questions surrounding his future after he requested a trade in February.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport confirmed details of the extension, which includes a no trade clause while amounting to a total value of $204,796,125 when coupled with the two years remaining on his current contract.
Garrett’s extension sees him leapfrog Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby, who just agreed a three-year $106.5m deal worth $35.5m per year.
2017 first overall pick Garrett has recorded 102.5 sacks in 117 games across eight seasons since entering the league, only Pittsburgh Steelers TJ Watt having posted more sacks in that time.
Garrett posted a career-high 16 sacks in both the 2021 and 2022 campaigns before being named Defensive Player of the Year in 2023.
He finished the 2024 season with 47 combined tackles, 14 sacks and three forced fumbles as Cleveland slumped to a 3-14 record at the bottom of the AFC North.
The 29-year-old is a six-time Pro Bowler and four-time First-Team All-Pro having asserted himself as one of the most dominant pass rushers in league history. He is notably the first person ever to manage at least 14 sacks in four successive campaigns.
Cleveland believed they had entered a new chapter of perennial playoff contention when they ended their 18-year postseason drought behind Garrett and quarterback Baker Mayfield in 2020, making it as far as the Divisional Round until they were eventually beaten by the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Browns then failed to reach the playoffs over the next two seasons while making the ill-guided decision to part with Mayfield in favour of handing Deshaun Watson a five-year, $230m deal that would prove one of the worst in history ahead of the 2022 season. Watson, who has suffered with multiple injury setbacks, failed to rediscover the form displayed prior to his suspension following multiple sexual harassment allegations.
Cleveland returned to the playoffs behind Comeback Player of the Year Joe Flacco and Defensive Player of the Year Garrett in 2023, but again found themselves off the pace last year.
It prompted Garrett to request a trade on February 3 as he underlined his “desire to win” in view of joining a contender.
In a U-turn, he has now committed his future to the Browns.
Garrett’s bumper new deal meanwhile raises further question marks over Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons, who is also due a hefty pay-day and could himself be in-line to become the highest-paid non-quarterback in history.
