Offensive tackles are getting rich in the NFL this offseason, with Nate Solder getting more than $15 million a year from the Giants in March and Taylor Lewan of the Titans and Jake Matthews of the Falcons getting nearly that much last week.
All of which shows what a great deal the Cowboys got when they signed Tyron Smith.
Smith’s contract, incredibly, still has six years left on it, at an average salary of $12.2 million a year. Given that Smith is 27 years old and offensive tackles often play well into their 30s, he could play out the entire length of that contract.
As Peter King noted in Football Morning in America, Smith has been graded higher than Lewan, Matthews and Solder by Pro Football Focus over the last three years, and of the three active tackles who have graded higher than Smith — Trent Williams, Joe Staley and Terron Armstead — none has more than four years left on his deal.
So the Cowboys have Smith locked up at an affordable salary for a whopping six more seasons, at a time when lesser tackles are making more money than him, and a whole slew of good tackles are likely to make even more money with new contracts in the next few years.
The only down side of this for the Cowboys is that they’re running the risk of Smith becoming so underpaid, relative to the other top tackles in the league, that he might hold out for more money. Dallas got Smith to sign such a good deal that Smith may soon demand a redo.