NFL Stars Next in Line for Big Contract Extensions

Big money. Big money. Big money. Stop. 

The NFL's version of the popular game show Press Your Luck—which returns to airwaves this summer—isn't as random, but the concept remains the same: Teams hope to strike extensions with star players when it's their turn and avoid landing on a whammy. 

The whammy, in this case, is a bad deal that eventually wastes all the guaranteed money invested because an individual doesn't live up to expectations. 

Already this offseason, the markets for quarterback, offensive tackle, tight end, off-the-ball linebacker, cornerback and safety have reset. 

Two factors play into a franchise's decision-making process when it's on the board. First, the market defines a top performer's worth. Second, financial priorities dictate an organization's proceedings when more than one decision is necessary. 

For example, the Denver Broncos agreed to a $4 million raise with Chris Harris Jr. on Tuesday after the four-time Pro Bowl cornerback demanded an extension. Harris is now among the highest-paid at his position for the 2019 campaign. 

Other organizations are ready to complete mega-extensions. These deals should get done as soon as possible.

QB Tom Brady, New England Patriots

Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady turns 42 years old this summer. When the vast majority of players don't even play until that age, the idea of signing Brady to a contract extension seems unfathomable. 

But the Patriots don't have another choice. 

Brady has one year remaining on his deal, and the franchise doesn't have an obvious succession plan. 

"Think about it: The last three years we've been privileged to go to the Super Bowl with a quarterback in place. I would be quite surprised if he didn't continue for quite a while as our quarterback," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said at a press conference two weeks before the Super Bowl, per ESPN.com's Mike Reiss. 

The aging signal-caller posted a 65.8 completion percentage, 4,355 passing yards and 29 touchdowns in his 19th season. 

Two roadblocks could prevent an extension from happening until August. First, Kraft's pending legal matters might stunt any personal negotiations with Brady. Second, the quarterback reworked his contract last August, and the collective bargaining agreement dictates a player can't increase his salary after a renegotiation for one calendar year—though Brady didn't reach his $5 million in added incentives, which could allow the Patriots to renegotiate under the required timeline. 

Whether it's now or in a few months, the Patriots must keep Brady happy until his play starts to decline or they acquire a legitimate alternative. 

Projection: One-year extension worth $30 million

QB Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

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The Dallas Cowboys' accountants are working overtime, because the organization must find a way to pay quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver Amari Cooper, linebacker Jaylon Smith, running back Ezekiel Elliott and right tackle La'el Collins after making defensive end Demarcus Lawrence the game's highest-paid defensive end. 

The quarterback always takes priority, especially when an organization believes in its starter. 

"I just think he's got rare intangibles: his ability to interact with the team [in the] offseason, during the season, on the field, off the field," executive vice president Stephen Jones during an interview on ESPN 103.3's JaM Session (via the Dallas Morning News). 

"He sets the tone. He's what we're all about. I just think that's hard to find."

Prescott, who is entering a contract year, is only getting better.

The 25-year-old signal-caller played exceptionally well over the final nines game of the 2018 campaign (after Dallas added Cooper). During that stretch, Prescott completed 71.3 percent of his passes for 2,468 yards, 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions. 

The quarterback position, as a whole, is a game of "who's next?" Each new extension resets the market. Prescott may not have the track record of other stars, but the Cowboys front office wants to get something done. 

"We're very comfortable with Dak (Prescott) being our future," a source told NFL Network's Jane Slater. 

Projection: Five-year extension worth $155 million

RB Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Running back Melvin Gordon isn't always available to the Los Angeles Chargers. When he is, the team features a different offense. 

According to the Los Angeles Times' Jeff Miller, the Chargers averaged only 84 rushing yards per game during the four contests Gordon missed last season with an MCL injury. The team's starter managed 885 rushing yards, averaged 5.1 yards per carry and scored 10 rushing touchdowns in his 12 appearances. 

"I thought he had a great year and was highly productive for us this year," general manager Tom Telesco told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. "He's a three-down back and puts a lot of balls in the end zone for us, a lot of touchdowns. He's a great player. ... But I don't have a timetable on anything like that [an extension]."

The Chargers have a decision to make. Like Gordon, Philip Rivers is also entering the final year of his contract. Usually, the quarterback gets taken care of first, but Rivers isn't in any hurry to extend his deal. 

"I'm just fine right where we are, you know," the 37-year-old signal-caller said, per Miller. "I got this year left and under no immediate stress or urgency to get anything done."

The same can't be said of Gordon. The running back hasn't joined the team during voluntary workouts as he continues to wait for a new deal. 

Projection: Four-year extension worth $48 million

WR Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons

Mark LoMoglio/Associated Press

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones led the NFL in receiving yardage twice since signing a five-year, $71.26 million extension before the 2015 campaign. In fact, the 30-year-old averaged 105 receptions and 1,600 yards during that span. 

Now, he's got two years left on the deal, and the organization said it will "take care" of him. As a result, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and linebacker Deion Jones will have to wait their turns, even though both of those extensions are crucial. 

Six of the top nine wide receiver contracts, including the two richest, were signed within the past calendar year. Jones is now the league's 12th-highest-paid wide receiver on an annual basis. 

"I know there is interest because of everything that's going on with all of the receivers in the league," general manager Thomas Dimitroff said in March, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's D. Orlando Ledbetter. "There are big numbers (being) talked about and a big situation there. Look, we feel good with our communications there."

Atlanta's biggest hurdle is managing demands after it signed quarterback Matt Ryan to a five-year, $150 million extension in May. Ryan's contract holds the league's highest salary-cap hits during the 2020 and '21 campaigns. The Falcons, as a team, don't have much financial flexibility between now and then. Tough decisions will be made.

Even so, Jones' new deal appears to be coming soon. 

Projection: Three-year extension worth $51 million

WR Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Wide receiver Michael Thomas continues to get better with each passing season, and the New Orleans Saints will have to pay for his excellence. 

Thomas, who's entering the final year of his pact, set single-season franchise records in 2018 with 125 receptions for 1,405 receiving yards. He also has more catches (321) through his first three seasons than any wide receiver in NFL history. 

The Saints found a superstar in the 2016 draft's second round after multiple busts at the same position were selected in the opening frame. Thomas is the league's most underpaid player based on his production, as he's working under a rookie deal. His base salary is $1.15 million this fall. Sixty-eight wide receivers are scheduled to make more. 

Thomas could fuss about it since he deserves a hefty pay raise, but the wide receiver is willing to wait. 

"I feel pretty certain that everything will get taken care of and handled professionally," Thomas said, per ESPN.com's Mike Triplett. "This is how I approach the game and how I show up to work the same way, and everything else will take care of itself."

At 26 years old, Thomas can become league's highest-paid wide receiver while the organization awaits Drew Brees' long-term decision—the quarterback will be a free agent after this year too—and have the offense's top weapon locked up through his prime seasons. 

Projection: Five-year extension worth $92 million

DE Yannick Ngakoue, Jacksonville Jaguars

Gary McCullough/Associated Press

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue isn't often mentioned with the league's best pass-rushers, but he should be. More importantly, he should be paid like one.  

"My production speaks for itself at the end of the day. That's really a question for the front office," Ngakoue told reporters of a possible contract extension before the last year of his deal. 

In three seasons, the 24-year-old edge-rusher accumulated 29.5 sacks, 70 quarterback hits, 29 tackles for loss, 10 forced fumbles and a Pro Bowl appearance. According to Pro Football Focus, only Joey Bosa holds a higher pass-rush grade from the 2016 draft class, while Ngakoue ranks in the top 10 overall in pass-rush grade (87.6) among those with 400 or more pass-rushing snaps over the past two seasons. 

The Dallas Cowboys' Demarcus Lawrence, Detroit Lions' Trey Flowers, Kansas City Chiefs' Frank Clark and San Francisco 49ers' Dee Ford already received massive deals this offseason, and Ngakoue noticed. He hasn't attended voluntary workouts, though he won't sit out the season if an extension isn't forthcoming. 

"Of course I'm going to play," Ngakoue told reporters. 

Jacksonville must massage its future salary-cap standing to extend the talented young edge-rusher. The Jaguars are way over the projected 2020 cap number. The organization may have to move on from quality veterans Calais Campbell, Telvin Smith and Marcell Dareus for next year's salaries to work. Ngakoue is worth it. 

Projection: Five-year extension worth $92.5 million

DL Leonard Williams, New York Jets

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

The New York Jets organization is a dumpster fire with no general manager, a head coach with too much power and no clear path toward respectability. 

The thought of extending the contract of one of the team's best players seems next to impossible given the timeline for a rebuild. Yet, the organization must seriously consider it, whether it's now or after the new general manager is hired. 

Leonard Williams is too talented for the Jets to discard when his contract expires after this season. 

The 24-year-old interior defender managed 85 quarterback hits and 32 tackles for loss in his first four campaigns, which included a 2016 Pro Bowl berth. According to Pro Football Focus, Williams ranks in the top five in run stops (116), tackles for no gain or loss (53) and first contact on a runner (183) since he entered the league in 2015.

Now paired with another top talent—this year's third overall pick, Quinnen Williams—Leonard Williams could be a devastating interior presence with a rising price tag. But his preference is to stay. 

"I got drafted here, I've been here for a while, I'm one of the vets on the team now even though I'm still young," the four-year veteran said, per NJ.com's Matt Stypulkoski. "I get comfortable to where I'm at, you know what I mean. I definitely would want to stay here. I feel like I'm a loyal type of player." 

The Jets can't screw this up—can they? 

Projection: Four-year extension worth $66 million

DL Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs

Reed Hoffmann/Associated Press

The Kansas City Chiefs already signed defensive end Frank Clark, whom the team acquired via trade from the Seattle Seahawks, to a five-year, $105 million extension this offseason. The organization might not stop there. The front office entered the offseason with a stated goal of getting a deal done with defensive lineman Chris Jones, who's facing a contract year.

"There's a lot of time to go before the season starts, and he's certainly a guy that we've targeted and would love to get done," Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said in March, per the Kansas City Star's Brooke Pryor. "The conversations have started."

The investment in Clark makes a Jones deal far more difficult but not unachievable. The Chiefs should make the signing of two defensive cornerstones a priority. 

"I've made myself at home, the fans have bought into me, the community has accepted me for who I am and I appreciate that," Jones said, per the Star's Blake Kerkhoff. "I want to spend the rest of my career here, if that's possible."

The 2018 second-team All-Pro sounds amenable to a hometown discount even after he finished third overall last season with 15.5 sacks.

Kansas City created plenty of pressure last season—the unit tied for the league lead with 52 sacks. But a combination of Clark and Jones will allow new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to put more focus into coverage since the duo can win one-on-one matches and consistently collapse the pocket. 

Projection: Four-year extension worth $68 million

LB Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks

Daniel Gluskoter/Associated Press

Linebacker Bobby Wagner knows exactly what he's worth and plans to get it—whether he remains with the Seattle Seahawks or signs with another team next offseason. 

C.J. Mosley became the highest-paid off-the-ball-linebacker in NFL history when he agreed to a five-year, $85 million deal with the New York Jets in March.

"I mean, the number is the number, the market is the market," Wagner said of Mosley's deal, per the Seattle Times' Bob Condotta. 

"That's the top (of the) linebacker market. That is the standard. And so that is the plan to break that."

The four-time first-team All-Pro, who produced seven straight 100-plus-tackle seasons, hasn't participated in OTAs. Instead, he showed up to help his teammates. 

The team leader continues to honor his contract while sending the message he wants a new deal. 

"I guess we are the team to do it with you know?" general manager John Schneider said, per Condotta. "Negotiating, it's not fun, you know what I mean? And anytime you do them with a player you are going to have those conversations that are very direct, very blunt, and it's a process you have to go through."

Wagner earned his reputation as one of the game's best middle linebackers alongside the Carolina Panthers' Luke Kuechly. The Seattle defender is still 28 years old. Plus, the Seahawks created valuable cap space by trading Clark and releasing Doug Baldwin and Kam Chancellor. 

Projection: Four-year extension worth $70 million

LB Jadeveon Clowney, Houston Texans

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

The Houston Texans want to sign outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney to a long-term extension and used this year's franchise tag for leverage. 

"Yes," general manager Brian Gaine told reporters regarding whether he was feeling optimistic about getting a deal done with Clowney. "That's the spirit of the franchise tag. There's a reason why we did that, with every hope and intention of continuing to work on that. That's a negotiation.

"It's a process. It has to be a deal that makes sense for both sides—for the player, for the organization as it relates to short-term and long-term. So, that's still the plan."

The sides are far apart, and Clowney could sit out the preseason, according to an ex-teammate. 

"We should not expect him until September," former Texans wide receiver Cecil Shorts III said during an interview with Sports Radio 610's The Triple Threat. 

"(The Texans) are offering him a long-term deal, from what I am hearing, it's linebacker-type money and (Clowney) wants a long-term deal with defensive end-type of contract."

Clowney's stance makes sense. Yes, he's listed as a linebacker, but he's an edge defender and is coming off his best season, according to Pro Football Focus. The 26-year-old's value can't be any higher, and the Texans clearly prefer a long-term solution. 

Projection: Six-year extension worth $103.2 million.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @brentsobleski. Salary-cap info courtesy of Spotrac.