Jared Goff’s Contract Rated ‘Steal’ for Lions Following Last Season

Jared Goff

Getty Jared Goff fires a pass during the 2023 NFL Pro Bowl in Las Vegas.

In the NFL, many teams have problems at quarterback. Right now, the Detroit Lions don’t have such a situation with Jared Goff.

With Goff coming off an elite 2022 season, the calls for Detroit to abandon him ahead of the 2023 season have begun to die down more than a bit. That might be especially true looking closer at his contract, which is slated to pay him yearly cash around $25,975,000 in 2023 and $26,650,064 in 2024.

Recently, ESPN insiders took a look at quarterback contracts, and identified the biggest values and worst deals across the league. While Goff’s contract may have been seen as a head-scratcher a few years ago, suddenly, it looks very good for Detroit.

Goff was listed in the “established starters not on rookie deals” portion of the exercise, and when it came to that, he was referred to as a “steal” by analyst Dan Graziano based on what he was able to do last season with Detroit while making $26,150,000.

“Jared Goff is a steal for the Lions at an average of $26.5 million over the next two years. He could be looking for a raise after his big season, but the fact that he’s two years from free agency hurts his leverage. Detroit could try to work something out with him like Las Vegas did last offseason with Carr — guaranteeing his 2023 salary and injury-guaranteeing some of his 2024 salary — to keep him happy and reward him,” Graziano wrote in the piece.

Could the Lions re-do Goff’s contract and give him an extension? It’s possible, and such a move would end many of the questions about Goff’s future with the franchise in the short-term if they simply committed to him with that type of decision. It could also help the Lions financially, as well.

Brad Holmes doesn’t sound as if he is ready to move on from Goff, and this could be one of the many reason why. The quarterback not only delivered on the field but off, and has fit Detroit’s community incredibly well after joining the franchise.

When considering Goff’s contract, he could offer the team a major return on investment, and might be one of the bigger league values as a result.


Goff Deserves Credit for Lions Turnaround

If the Lions decided to do a new deal with Goff, that might be smart business given what the quarterback did on the field this season and what he has meant to the franchise as a whole.

Perhaps the most significant of the parties that can take credit for being able to help the team deliver upon a major turnaround is Goff. Detroit’s quarterback went from an average placeholder to a silent assassin in the minds of fans overnight. Along the way, he’s made plenty of believers in not only the team, but his own viability moving forward.

Goff leads with a steady hand and an unflinching confidence. In his meetings with the press, he is rarely too high or too low, instead opting for the coveted even-keel. At times, he’s made mistakes. Rarely, though, does he let them compound into poor games or stretches of games.

Many may have been tempted to assume Goff was just a throw-in for the Lions in the blockbuster deal with Matthew Stafford. At his 28 year old age and ability level, though, Goff is looking like one of the most important pieces to the team’s puzzle for the future.

As the Lions have built around him and continue to build around him, Goff has shown he is capable of shouldering the entire load at the position.


Goff Completed Solid 2022 Season

In terms of what Goff has done on the field, the Lions have no reason to be all that disappointed with their quarterback statistically and otherwise. That’s part of the reason his deal looks like such a value all of a sudden.

This past year, Goff has put up a very solid 29 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. Goff has thrown for a quality 4,438 yards with a decent 99.3 QBR. Goff was a quality game manager for the Lions. He avoided the big mistakes for the most part, and been a player who has looked very comfortable within the team’s offense.

Detroit could keep Goff given what he has been able to do in leading a resurgent Lions offense most of the year, and it sounds as if that is just what the front office wants to do. Holmes spoke a few weeks ago, and admitted Goff has proven himself as the team’s quarterback.

Looking at his contract closer, that might only be more of the case.