Taylor Lewan, Titans Agree to Richest OL Contract Ever; $50 Million Guaranteed

The Tennessee Titans announced on Friday that they came to terms on a contract extension with offensive tackle Taylor Lewan.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, it is a five-year deal worth $80 million with $50 million guaranteed, making it the richest contract in NFL history for an offensive lineman.

Lewan is in the final year of his rookie contract after the team picked up his fifth-year option for 2018. While he was hoping to find security with a new deal, he was seeking to become the highest-paid tackle in the league, per Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com.

Nate Solder previously had that honor after agreeing to a four-year, $62 million deal with the New York Giants in March.

Negotiations had been slow on Lewan's deal, with the Michigan star holding out during the team's mandatory mini-camp in June. Still, he apparently kept his mindset on the field.

"To be honest, my focus...it's cool to look at numbers and what if...but at the end of the day, I've got to play ball and I've got to play as hard as I can, and that's the goal," he said in May, per Terry McCormick of Titans Insider.

He reported to training camp at the end of July, helping facilitate the eventual agreement.

On the field, the 27-year-old has become one of the top offensive linemen in the NFL.

The 2014 first-round pick has started every game over the past two seasons, earning a Pro Bowl selection in each year. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the No. 4 offensive tackle in football in 2017 while his teammate Jack Conklin was No. 3. 

Tennessee was able to keep these bookends together by locking down Lewan with a new deal. After reaching the divisional round last season, the Titans are seemingly headed in the right direction as an organization.