The Tennessee Titans have done right by their star running back by signing Derrick Henry to a contract extension.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal is for four years and is worth $50 million, with $25.5 million guaranteed. That works out to an annual average of $12.5 million per year.
With that done, Henry ranks fifth in the NFL in terms annual average salary for running backs, which is where he was while on the franchise tag. Of course, he’s now making a little over $2 million more than the $10.278 million franchise tag he was on before agreeing to the extension.
Here’s a look at the top four ahead of him, according to Over the Cap.
1. Christian McCaffrey – $16.5 million
2. Ezekiel Elliot – $15 million
3. Le’Veon Bell – $13.1 million
4. David Johnson – $13 million
5. Derrick Henry – $12.5 million
The value seems fair for both sides.
Henry hasn’t proven to be a dual-threat back during his time in the NFL, so he was never going to be the highest-paid running back in the league.
However, the Titans are still showing their star plenty of respect with this deal. General manager Jon Robinson often talked about finding common ground with Henry, and this deal is the epitome of that.
The signing won’t come without criticism, though. Lucrative long-term deals for running backs are looked down upon in this day and age, especially when given to backs who aren’t known to impact the passing game all that much.
But Henry’s situation is a bit different. The Alabama product is the heart and soul of Tennessee’s offense and everything the Titans do revolves around the mere threat of him running the football.
Are the Titans still taking a risk?
On the surface, the answer is somewhat, although we can’t really say for sure until we see how the money is distributed over the length of the contract.
Regardless, signing what is arguably the most important piece of a team with Super Bowl aspirations in 2020 is well worth the risk.
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