Derwin James has secured yet another record-setting deal.
The Los Angeles Chargers reached a three-year, $75.6 million deal with James on Tuesday afternoon, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. At more than $25 million a season, James will be the highest-paid safety in the league for the second time in his career. The Chargers confirmed the extension on social media.
James, 29, was set to enter the final year of his current contract this fall, and would have been an unrestricted free agent next summer. James was earning an average of about $19.1 million per season, which made him the fourth-highest paid safety in the NFL.
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His new deal narrowly surpasses the mark that Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton had set at $25.1 million per season. Detroit’s Kerby Joseph and Tampa Bay’s Antoine Winfield Jr. are the only other safeties in the league who are earning more than $20 million per season.
James has spent his entire career with the Chargers, who selected him with the No. 17 overall pick out of Florida State in 2018. He had 94 total tackles and matched his career-high of three interceptions last season while earning his fifth Pro Bowl nod.
He helped the Chargers to an 11-6 record and their second straight playoff appearance, too, though the team fell in the wild-card round once again.
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“I’ve called him the best safety I’ve ever seen in the history of the National Football League,” Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said after the team’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders last season. “I don’t think I’m going out on a limb there. He is one of the most incredible players I’ve ever watched.”
James has been a staple for the Chargers’ defense ever since he entered the league. Clearly, the Chargers weren’t ready to let him walk and opted to reward him with another record-setting contract.
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