GETTY Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens is tackled by defensive tackle Joey Bosa #99 of the Los Angeles Chargers in the first quarter during the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 06, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland.
If the Los Angeles Chargers were concerned about keeping defensive end Joey Bosa around, they no longer have to fear.
After four highly productive years in Los Angeles, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday evening that the Chargers had landed their star defensive end to a massive contract.
Chargers and DE Joey Bosa reached agreement on a 5-year, $135 million extension that ties him to LA the next six years, league sources tell ESPN. He had $78M fully guaranteed at signing and $102M guaranteed – a new NFL defensive record.
As Schefter points out, the guaranteed money for the former Ohio State standout breaks the record for the most amount of guaranteed money for a defensive player ever with a eye-watering $78 million guaranteed signing bonus and $102 million guaranteed over the course of the five-year extension, which will keep Bosa in California until 2026.
Bosa’s Play and Negotiations
This is Bosa’s second NFL contract after being selected by the then-San Diego Chargers with the third overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft, which saw him receive a four-year, $25.8 million contract.
There’s a reason why Bosa is getting such a huge extension: he produces. A lot.
Even before the NFL, Bosa became known as one of the most impactful and consistent collegiate pass rushers while an Ohio State Buckeye, racking up 26 sacks and four forced fumbles while playing in Columbus, Ohio.
But at the NFL level, Bosa has stepped his game up. In 51 total appearances for the Chargers, which include 50 starts, Bosa has totaled a whopping 40 sacks, an elite return for any NFL pass-rusher.
To boot, Bosa also boasts five forced fumbles as well as 148 solo tackles, which shows the obvious fact that he specializes as a defensive end who gets after the quarterback but can also make plays in the run game.
This has led to a NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2016, which was followed up by his brother and San Francisco 49ers star Nick Bosa in 2019, as well as two Pro Bowl selections in 2017 and 2019.
However, there was possible concern in the Los Angeles camp due to the fact that the majority of a disrupted and chaotic offseason had passed by without any news for the player and with Bosa entering the option year of his contract, that has him scheduled to make $14.3 million in salary.
The length in which negotiations took shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the 25-year-old held out until August 2016 as a rookie over a signing bonus issue.
However, solving the issue has obviously been worth it in the end for the Chargers, and they will expect this financial investment to be the same.
Highest-Paid Defensive Ends
With the five-year extension, Bosa now becomes the highest paid defensive end in terms of money per year, averaging $27 million a season, which puts him over recently signed Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who will average $25 million a season.
The pair of young pass rushers eclipse notable names like Chicago Bears star Khalil Mack and Dallas Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence, who are currently averaging $23.5 million and $21 million a year respectively.
Behind Mack and Lawrence are Kansas City Chief and Super Bowl LIV winner Frank Clark with $20.8 million a year on average and Denver Broncos legend Von Miller, who clocks in at $19.8 million a year.
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Evan Reier is a sportswriter covering the San Francisco 49ers for Heavy.com and local sports for the Montana Standard in Butte, Mont. Reach out to him on Twitter at @evanreier and join our 49ers community at Heavy on 49ers on Facebook.
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Chargers Shatter Contract Record With Star’s $135 Million Extension