I didn’t wake up today thinking, “You know what I want for breakfast? A 2-year contract extension worth $54.5 million”—because I was hungry as shit and french toast sounded far more enticing at the time. But Arizona Cardinals wideout DeAndre Hopkins did, and according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the three-time All-Pro just became the highest-paid non-QB to ever touch the field.
Not bad for a dude that the Texans foolishly traded away for a Meteor Man action figure and a Best of Milli Vanilli box set in March.
Here’s the details on the deal, courtesy of ESPN:
The Cardinals and Hopkins agreed to a two-year extension worth $54.5 million with $42.5 million guaranteed, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The deal keeps Hopkins in Arizona for five years—through the 2024 season—and $94 million total, for an annual average of $18.8 million, meaning he’s likely to be the heir apparent to Larry Fitzgerald’s role with the franchise.
That’s not quite Patrick Mahomes money or anywhere near enough to be able to afford to divorce Dr. Dre’s ex-wife but he can afford NBA League Pass and that’s all that matters.
It’s also important to note that by negotiating the terms of the deal himself, he saved himself between $540K-$1.6M in agent fees—more commonly known as rich people tax.
Since his selection as the 27th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Hopkins has collected the third-most receiving yards and catches, second-most touchdowns and most targets in the entire league despite catching passes from 10 different quarterbacks. And last season, he collected 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns, which was his fifth 1,000-yard season in six years.
I think it’s safe to say that the extension is well-deserved.
So DeAndre, lunch is on you, right?