New Orleans‘ four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Cameron Jordan and the Saints reached agreement on a big three-year contract extension that will contractually tie the two sides together for the next five seasons, through the 2023 season, sources tell ESPN.
Jordan’s extension, engineered by agent Doug Hendrickson of Wasserman and the Saints’ vice president of football administration Khai Harley, is a three-year, $52.5 million deal with a max of $55.5 million that includes over $42 million in guaranteed money, per sources.
Jordan, who turns 30 on July 10, wanted financial security now, and the Saints wanted to keep one of their top players and leaders happy, with the team trying to ensure that he finishes his career in New Orleans. He now has five years and a maximum value of $74 million left on the deal after Tuesday’s extension.
The first-round pick in 2011 had two years left on a five-year extension that he signed in 2015 worth between $55 million and $60 million.
But that deal was signed before the 29-year-old really exploded into the player he is now (a first-team All-Pro in 2017 with 13 sacks and a second-team All-Pro in 2018 with 12 sacks). It was signed before he established himself as one of New Orleans’ core leaders in the locker room and in the community. And it was signed before the NFL’s elite edge rushers started getting paid almost as much as quarterbacks.
The Chicago Bears‘ Khalil Mack is averaging more than twice as much as Jordan, at $23.5 million per year. DeMarcus Lawrence and Frank Clark also joined the $20 million club this year.
ESPN’s Mike Triplett contributed to this report.