Texans' Laremy Tunsil Wants New Contract to Be Highest-Paid NFL OT After Pro Bowl Nod

Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil said he wants to renegotiate his contract after he was selected to the Pro Bowl, and he has one clear goal in mind.

"I don't know who's the highest right now, maybe Trent [Williams] at $23 [million], but I want to top that," Tunsil said, per DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN. "Always want to reset the market. Perfect opportunity to reset the market. Everything is lining up as far as my contract to how I'm playing. Everything lining up perfectly."

Bien-Aime broke down the numbers, noting the San Francisco 49ers made Williams the league's highest-paid offensive lineman with a six-year, $138.06 million deal in March 2021 that pays him $23.01 million per season.

As for Tunsil, the 2023 campaign is set to be the final season of his three-year, $66 million extension that he signed in 2020. Houston converted $16.8 million of his $17.9 million salary for 2022 into a signing bonus, and his dead-cap number for 2023 is set to be $16.7 million.

Yet signing a long-term extension would provide the 28-year-old with an element of security against the Texans cutting or trading him.

Tunsil entered the league as a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2016, and he played his first three years with the AFC East team until he was traded to Houston ahead of the 2019 campaign.

All three of his career Pro Bowl selections have come with the Texans, and he has appeared in 15 games as something of a bright spot for the 2-12-1 team this season.

Pro Football Focus has him listed with an impressive overall player grade of 79.9, and he has the opportunity to be a foundational building block for the franchise for years to come if he receives the long-term deal he is looking for heading into the offseason.