Former USC standout Amon-Ra St. Brown has traveled a long way from being the 16th wide receiver selected in the 2021 NFL draft.
Now, the former Trojans captain has become valuable enough to the Detroit Lions that his contract is helping the franchise manufacture more than $30 million in spending flexibility.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Saturday that Detroit restructured the contracts of St. Brown and Penei Sewell, creating more than $30 million in salary cap space. Schefter credited Spotrac with initially reporting the moves.
It marks another financial milestone for a player who left USC as an accomplished receiver but lasted until the fourth round of the draft.
St. Brown has since turned that draft-day slide into one of the NFL’s biggest receiver contracts and, more importantly for Detroit, validated himself as a player around whom the organization is comfortable building its long-term finances.
St. Brown Has Come Long Way Since USC
Before becoming the key element of Detroit’s passing game, St. Brown spent three seasons producing for the Trojans.
USC’s official career statistics credit St. Brown with 178 receptions for 2,270 yards and 16 touchdowns. He appeared in 31 games with 23 starts and finished his college career tied for 11th on USC’s all-time receptions list.
His shortened 2020 season showed a peek of what was coming. St. Brown led USC with 41 catches, 478 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in six games while earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors and serving as a team captain.
Yet 15 receivers came off the board before him in 2021.
The Detroit Lions finally selected St. Brown at No. 112 overall. Detroit’s own draft-day assessment highlighted his route running, body control and ability to work both inside and outside after his productive USC career.
St. Brown remembered every receiver selected ahead of him.
“I’m never going to forget the 15 receivers that went before me in the draft,” St. Brown said during his rookie minicamp.
That chip paid off in quite the tangible fashion, as he rose to the top of the NFL receiving echelon.
Lions Lean on St. Brown for Cap Flexibility
The latest restructure comes roughly two years after St. Brown landed a four-year, $120.01 million extension from Detroit.
Spotrac’s contract breakdown lists the agreement at an average of slightly more than $30 million annually with $77 million in total guarantees. Before Saturday’s reported restructuring, Spotrac listed St. Brown with a $33.11 million salary cap charge for 2026.
Rather than St. Brown being an inexpensive fourth-round find as he was early in his career, his contract has become one of the significant financial pieces on the Lions’ books. Restructuring it allows Detroit to shift when some of that money counts against the cap and create room for other roster moves.
The Lions also reworked Penei Sewell, another member of Detroit’s 2021 draft class. Sewell went seventh overall that year, 105 selections before St. Brown.
Five years later, both are important enough to Detroit that adjusting their contracts produced more than $30 million in flexibility.
In the end, it’s another chapter for St. Brown continuing his remarkable ascent from USC. The receiver who watched three rounds of the draft pass before hearing his name has a contract sizable enough to help redesign Detroit’s salary-cap picture.
Former USC Star at Center of Detroit Lions’ $30 Million Move