Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett capped his rookie season with three sacks in Super Bowl LI. He has now capped his rookie contract with a four-year, big-money deal.
Per a league source, here’s the full breakdown of Jarrett’s new contract.
1. Signing bonus: $18 million.
2. 2019 salary: $6.5 million, fully guaranteed.
3. 2020 option bonus: $3 million, fully guaranteed.
4. 2020 salary: $10.5 million, fully guaranteed.
5. 2021 base salary: $13.5 million, $4.5 million of which is guaranteed for injury at signing and becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2020 (not 2021) league year.
6. 2022 base salary: $16.5 million.
That translates to a four-year, $68 million contract, with $38 million fully guaranteed at signing, covering the first two years of the deal. (That’s more than he would have gotten under two years of the tag.) Also, the additional $4.5 million in injury guarantees become fully guaranteed after only one season. To avoid that, the Falcons would have to cut Jarrett after only one year, at $38 million.
For a guy who has never had more than six sacks, that’s a great deal. It puts him behind only Aaron Donald and Fletcher Cox among interior defensive linemen.
Also, the Falcons pushed for a five-year deal. Limiting it to four years gets Jarrett back to the market before his 30th birthday.