The Dallas Cowboys agreed to a five-year extension worth $105 million with defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence on Friday. The deal includes $65 million guaranteed, ESPN's Todd Archer reports.
Lawrence will receive more money during the first year of the deal than any defensive player in NFL history, a source told NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. His mark will eclipse the $31 million Khalil Mack pocketed in his first year with the Chicago Bears.
The up-front money is necessary because fellow Cowboys stars Amari Cooper and Dak Prescott are scheduled to hit free agency in 2020, and Ezekiel Elliott will follow in 2021.
At $21 million, Lawrence will now be paid the NFL's third-highest salary among defensive players behind Mack ($23.5 million) and Aaron Donald ($22.5 million).
Lawrence’s 3-year cash earnings all rank 3rd behind Mack & Donald. His $65M guaranteed ranks 4th behind Mack, Donald, & Von Miller, but $65M fully guaranteed over a 3 year span is tops... https://t.co/9M1ZlHrZvU
— Spotrac (@spotrac) April 5, 2019
Lawrence played the 2018 season on the franchise tag. He was again tagged this offseason, but the Cowboys were confident about signing the 26-year-old to an extension.
The two sides were at an impasse in contract talks, but a breakthrough came after Lawrence and executive vice president Stephen Jones talked on the phone Thursday, according to Archer.
Lawrence followed up his breakout 2017 season (14.5 sacks) with a 10.5-sack campaign in 2018.
