Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown Pegged as 2024 Holdout Candidate

Getty The Detroit Free Press' Dave Birkett proposed Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown holding out next offseason.

What kind of deal quarterback Jared Goff will receive with his next contract has been a significant discussion point among fans and the media the past several months. But his favorite target, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, is due for a new contract soon too.

If The Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett was St. Brown’s agent, he would encourage his client to do whatever possible to land his next deal in 2024. That includes potentially holding out of training camp.

“If I was St. Brown, I probably would hold out of training camp next summer, when he’s due a comparatively paltry base salary of $1.055 million (that will go up once the proven performance escalator kicks in), until I got a new deal,” Birkett wrote in a mailbag answer on November 29.

St. Brown will be entering the final year of his rookie deal in 2024. But with 278 receptions, 3,066 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns in his first 43 NFL games, St. Brown deserves a hefty raise.

St. Brown will make just $1.055 million in 2024 because he was a fourth-round pick.

Projecting Contracts for Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, QB Jared Goff

St. Brown may have been a fourth-rounder, but he’s become one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.

Heading into Week 13, St. Brown is ranked fifth in the NFL with 82 receptions and sixth with 993 receiving yards. He’s on pace for his first 130-reception and 1,500-yard season.

That will easily eclipse the numbers he posted during his first Pro Bowl campaign last season — 106 catches and 1,161 yards.

With that production, Birkett argued St. Brown should be one of the highest-paid receivers in the NFL.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt St. Brown will blow past the $20 million-a-year mark on his next contract,” Birkett wrote. “After playing three seasons on fourth-round wages and producing like one of the best receivers in the NFL, he’s worth it, too.

“Tyreek Hill currently tops the receiver market with an average annual value of $30 million per season. Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase should get new deals that top that in the coming months, and I’d guess St. Brown at least approaches that ballpark, too.

“Hill, Jefferson, Chase and A.J. Brown ($25 million per season) are the best receivers in the NFL right now, and St. Brown is at least in the conversation for next on the list.”

Davante Adams and Cooper Krupp are two other receivers who currently have an average annual salary of at least $25 million.

If St. Brown demands a new deal in 2024, the Lions may have no choice but to extend him at the same time as Goff. Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti predicted that Goff would sign a new deal in the range of $40 million per season.

Other Potential Future Contracts for Lions

Birkett argued that every roster decision Detroit makes this offseason will need to consider the money needed to keep Goff and St. Brown.

With that in mind, Birkett guessed that the Lions would “wait one more year” to sign tackle Penei Sewell to a contract extension.

“Sewell is on pace to be the highest-paid offensive tackle in football, but if they delay that deal one year they still should be able to afford some defensive upgrades while locking up St. Brown and Goff,” wrote Birkett.

As a former first-round pick, Sewell has a fifth-year option the Lions will very likely pick up. That will keep him in Detroit through 2025.

Defensive lineman Alim McNeill is another young building block the Lions will need to re-sign. Like St. Brown, his rookie deal expires after 2024.

There’s also free agency for the Lions to fill holes on defense and reinforce the offensive line.