Danielle Hunter‘s five-year extension will pay him $72 million, with $40 million in guarantees, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports. The defensive end gets a $15 million signing bonus.
“Danielle has done an outstanding job ever since we’ve drafted him,” Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman said, via quotes distributed by the team. “A young, talented football player that works extremely hard, shows the passion for the game, comes to work every day to improve and get better, and has so much more upside to grow into. Just looking forward to getting him locked in and what he’s going to continue to bring not only to this defense and this football team, but also the type of character that he brings to the Minnesota Vikings.”
Hunter, a third-round pick in 2015, became a full-time starter for the first time last season. He made 45 tackles and seven sacks in 2017.
“I kind of came in with the mindset of just playing football,” Hunter said. “I had a whole bunch of people in front of me, older guys that were able to show me the way, good coaches and a good coaching staff. The only thing I could do is just come in here and focus and play football.”
Hunter said it was important to “get this out of the way” before the start of the season because he “didn’t want to be bothered by anything.” He becomes the latest of the team’s defenders to get a long-term deal, and linebacker Anthony Barr is on the list of next in line along with receiver Stefon Diggs.
“We build a bond together on defense,” Hunter said. “We go out there, and we know we’re brothers. We fight together. We do our assignments. On and off the field, we’re really, really close, so it really means a lot [to get so many defenders signed long term].”