Aidan Hutchinson didn’t just sign a contract — he signed a statement. On Oct. 29, the Lions’ defensive end signed a four-year, $180 million contract extension with $141 million guaranteed.
Giving Hutchinson the most guaranteed money that a non-quarterback has ever received in a contract, the Detroit Lions have made their belief in No. 97 loud and clear.
$45 million per year.
45 million of anything is significant. Even some things that seem entirely worthless on its own become significant when it’s accompanied by 44,999,999 others.
A single strand of hair might be lucky to get plucked off a sweater someday; 45 million strands of hair is enough to get about 500 bald men’s swagger back. One grain of rice means essentially nothing; 45 million grains of rice could feed thousands. A lonely brick hardly has a purpose; 45 million bricks could construct the entirety of a neighborhood.
But with 45 million of something as significant as the almighty dollar? There’s little that can’t be accomplished with that kind of money — superyachts, Beverly Hills homes or the funding of entire business or philanthropic ventures.
For the Lions though, $45 million means another year of one of the NFL’s best defenders wearing the Honolulu blue — and Lions fans should be stoked.
At face value, Hutchinson is an elite player at one of the most important positions in football and his impact on the team is overwhelmingly positive. Any fan in their right mind would want that impact to have a home in Detroit through at least 2030.
The 25-year-old superstar was the betting favorite to be named the NFL’s defensive player of the year before breaking his leg a year ago and is positioned top three in the 2025 race.
But the money, as it often does, complicates things.
Of course, Hutchinson is valuable — there’s no argument about that — but the dialogue begins by asking if he’s “$45 million a year” valuable.
Off the field, Hutchinson is charismatic, philanthropic and a role model. He’s the type of guy fans are happy to see get paid — and the type of guy the Lions were going to make sure got paid.
“We had all the conviction in the world that Hutch is here to stay,” Dan Campbell, head coach of the Lions, said, “he’s everything we’re about.”
Hutchinson is the heartbeat of Detroit’s defense — the emotional engine of a locker room that has flipped the script from laughingstock to powerhouse.
The Lions were going to bring Hutchinson back whatever it cost, and that cost was determined by his elite play.
“Hutch is a pillar for us. He’s a complete football player,” Campbell said. “He sets edges in the run game, disrupts QBs in the pass game, and has awareness and feel in coverage when asked to drop.”
Campbell isn’t just blowing smoke.
Hutchinson is elite at rushing the passer, leading the NFL in pressures. Many star pass rushers make themselves vulnerable against the run game in order to perform against the pass — not Hutchinson who also plays the run as good as any defensive end in football.
There is not a situation, personnel set, formation or play call in which Hutchinson is not of immense value. Most star pass rushers, in order to stay fresh and play to their strengths, play between 75 to 80 percent of defensive snaps — Hutchinson plays over 90 percent.
From a money-focused perspective, the NFL is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and Hutchinson is one of its biggest stars. He brings loads of money to the league and to the Lions — he stars in ads, sold the third most jerseys of any NFL player during the 2024 season and is a key reason that the Lions find themselves playing in prime time as much as anybody — and he has been appropriately rewarded in his new contract.
However, it’s important to note that the NFL’s hard salary cap means that the $45 million allotted to Hutchinson cannot be given to anyone else. The Lions will have to make other personnel sacrifices going forward.
Yet, there’s temptation to argue that this deal was not only wise, but perhaps even a bargain for the Lions.
Consider this: a season ago, the Atlanta Falcons gave a four-year, $180 million contract — similar to Hutchinson’s — to a man who now serves as their backup quarterback.
It’s also important to understand how the NFL market works. Contract records are broken all the time — a great player signs a record-breaking deal, another player gets up for extension, that player one-ups the previous record, and the cycle repeats.
In August, Micah Parsons signed a four-year extension with the Green Bay Packers worth $47 million a year.
Considering that Hutchinson is roughly the same talent-level and position as Parsons — while being younger, more deeply rooted in his franchise and chronologically poised to one-up Parsons — many thought Hutchinson’s inevitable extension would come with an annual price tag of at least $50 million, so perhaps Hutchinson gave the team a $5 million a year discount.
The Lions have set a precedent for getting ahead of their extensions and taking care of their own.
These contracts have raised questions when they were signed but have aged quite well for the Lions.
In April 2024, the Lions gave Amon-Ra St. Brown a contract extension that made him the highest paid wide receiver in NFL history by average salary.
Just a year and a half later, St. Brown has already dropped to seventh on that list, and he will continue to drop as more extensions are signed, all while theoretically continuing to perform at a top five level.
Jared Goff has a similar story, signing an extension in March 2025 that made him the second-most handsomely paid quarterback at the time — he has already since been passed by five other quarterbacks.
Aidan Hutchinson’s extension is poised to age just as well.
It looks expensive now, but if the salary cap continues to increase each year, the market continues to reward pass rushers and Hutchinson continues to dominate — as they are all expected to do — Lions fans will look back at today from their seats in 2030, grateful that No. 97 has spent his career in Detroit.