Dallas has a slew of young stars who are eligible for contract extensions, with Trevon Diggs getting his big deal at the start of training camp. Now, with less than a week to go before the regular season begins, another young star players has inked a new deal.
While many fans thought CeeDee Lamb was going to be next up on the contract carousel for the Dallas Cowboys, that is not the case. The next offensive player to lock in for the long haul is right tackle Terence Steele, who has signed a five-year extension with $50 million guaranteed with the club as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Cowboys and RT Terence Steele reached agreement on a five-year, $86.8 million contract extension that includes $50 million guaranteed, per sources. Deal has a max upside of up to $91.8 million. The contract was negotiated and confirmed by @ErikBurkhardt of @RocNationSports. pic.twitter.com/ifnAGbceSh
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 3, 2023
Steele’s $17.36 million average salary places him eighth among NFL right tackles with Philadelphia’s Lane Johnson setting the pace at $21.2 million on average. Dallas now has Steele locked in through the 2028 season.
Prior to the extension, Steele was the 25th-highest paid right tackle.
Steele, a 2020 UDFA who was a shock installation as a starter following La’el Collins’ unavailability in Week 1 of that season, has never given the spot back. The Texas Tech native showed promise in holding down the right side next to Zack Martin and has built on that base each year since. His worth was obvious when he went down with a torn ACL in the back end of the 2022 season and was replaced by Tyron Smith.
The future Hall of Famer hadn’t played the right side since his rookie season and was a downgrade to Steele at the spot. Steele has had a remarkable recovery from his ACL and has now been rewarded with a new deal.
The three-year veteran was set to play the season on the second-round restricted free agent tender for $4.3 million.