Stafford Agrees To Bigger Deal Than Brady, Cutler
Last night, after weeks of posturing and negotiating, the Lions agreed to a deal with Matthew Stafford, the 21-year-old who is hours away from becoming the first pick in the NFL Draft and a multi-millionaire. According to multiple reports, Stafford will receive $41.7 million guaranteed as part of his six-year, $72 million deal with Detroit, a team owned by the Ford family, which also happens to own a pretty big slice of a failing auto company.
How much money is Stafford’s deal worth? Well, when you put it in the context of other highly compensated NFL stars, the numbers are still positively startling:
- Albert Haynesworth’s record-setting $100-115 million deal with the Redskins earlier this offseason contained $41 million in guaranteed money, less than Stafford’s deal.
- Tom Brady’s six-year deal — signed in 2005 — is worth $60 million, a full $12 million less than Stafford’s pact.
- Peyton Manning’s seven-year, $98 million deal — signed in 2004 — contains $34 million in guaranteed money, less than Stafford is getting.
- Jay Cutler is still playing on his original six-year, $47.86 million deal. That’s $24 million less than Stafford will be earning, and Cutler’s an All-Pro.
Amazingly, the numbers Stafford is getting when compared to other recent highly picked quarterbacks is equally startling.
