The Lions are signing edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson to a four-year contract extension, as reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and confirmed by Hutchinson’s agent, Mike McCartney .
The deal is worth $180MM in total ($45MM APY), according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter
, making Hutchinson the second-highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL behind Micah Parsons
. Hutchinson’s $141MM in total guaranteed money is the most of any non-quarterback in league history.
There is little doubt that Hutchinson is worth such a massive extension. The 2022 No. 2 pick burst onto the scene with 9.5 sacks and a second-place finish in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. He took a second-year leap with 11.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss and appeared to be the leading Defensive Player of the Year candidate in 2024 with 7.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss in his first five games before a season-ending leg fracture.
Upon returning to the field this year, the 25-year-old picked up right where he left off. Hutchinson has six sacks and six tackles for loss in his first seven games with a league-high four forced fumbles, making it clear that his injury has not affected his game in the slightest. That was probably all the Lions needed to confirm before signing him to the second-largest contract in franchise history.
Hutchinson’s extension is only the latest investment that Detroit has made in their roster. Since April 2024, they have doled out $968.5MM in contract extensions to nine core players, including Jared Goff , Penei Sewell , and Amon-Ra St. Brown , according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press . Almost all of those players were acquired by general manager Brad Holmes after he was hired in 2021. He traded for Goff and drafted Sewell and St. Brown that offseason, but the Lions still finished last in the NFC North for the fourth season in a row. That put Detroit in position to draft Hutchinson, a Michigan native and former Wolverine, a moment that marked a clear turning point for the franchise. Since then, they have gone 41-17 and won the division in two of the last three seasons.
While Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell have patiently, carefully built the Lions into a perennial championship contender, Hutchinson’s ascendance into one of the best defenders in the league has given them a game-wrecking element that no amount of coaching or front office maneuvering can develop. He is virtually unblockable in 1-on-1 matchups and has developed an excellent feel for punching the ball out to force momentum-shifting turnovers.
Hutchinson is in the fourth year of his rookie contract. The Lions picked up his $19.9MM fifth-year option for 2026 earlier this year, so his new deal will keep him in Detroit though 2030.