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Jadeveon Clowney Rumors: Star DE 'Hasn't Budged' on $17M-Per-Year Contract
August 16, 2020
The 2020 NFL season is fast approaching, but Jadeveon Clowney remains a free agent. Despite getting some interest, he could remain on the open market even longer.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler broke down the latest rumors on the star pass-rusher on SportsCenter Sunday:
"The wait continues. There is no indication that Jadeveon Clowney is ready to sign today. This could push up right until Week 1. I've spoken to several teams and they believe his asking price is still around $17 million per year. Now they haven't heard exactly just yet because he's been pretty quiet, but nobody's willing to pay that right now. He's gotten multiple offers from multiple teams, anywhere from Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, Seattle Seahawks. He hasn't budged on that asking price. He's coming up to a situation where he's gotta decide if he wants to play this year or could he wait out the entire season, and there's still several teams heavily monitoring this."
Clowney spent last season with the Seattle Seahawks, finishing with just 31 tackles and three sacks in 13 games. He underwent sports hernia surgery in February after being limited by a core injury for much of the 2019 season.
The three-time Pro Bowler was seeking a salary among the best defenders in the NFL, reportedly as much as $20 million per year initially, according to Kimberley A. Martin of ESPN. He also has turned down offers of over $15 million per year.
Though he is seemingly staying firm on his high asking price, Josina Anderson reported in June that Clowney still planned to join a team "before the season starts."
The challenge could be finding a team willing and able to meet his demands.
Fowler listed the Browns, Titans and Seahawks as possibilities, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported in July that Cleveland was likely out of the race after restructuring the deal for Olivier Vernon.
Defensive end Everson Griffen also only earned a one-year, $6 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys after tallying eight sacks last season.
Even at different ages and skill sets, this could make it tougher for Clowney to earn the amount of money he is seeking this offseason.