Heading into the 2025 season, there are few young young players as ready to make the leap into the superstar tier as Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton. The fourth-year pro, who turned just 24 years old this offseason, is coming off of a second straight Pro Bowl appearance and a second straight season earning an All-Pro nod. Hamilton has earned impressive accolades during his first three seasons, but he could be ready to make a leap into uncharted territory when it comes to his contract extension in 2026. As Glenn Erby of USA Today’s Ravens Wire writes, “Of the five highest-paid safeties currently in the NFL, only Derwin James, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and [Antoine] Winfield Jr. are more accomplished, meaning Hamilton could be the first $100 million safety in NFL history.”
Hamilton Could be First Safety to Sign $100 Million Contract
Currently, Kerby Joseph of the Detroit Lions is the league’s highest-paid safety, bringing in a total of $86 million over the next four seasons. His average of $21.5 million per year is also the highest at the position. Antoine Winfield Jr. is the only other safety earning more than $20 million per year at $21.025 million per year.
In his article detailing the Ravens’ top extension candidates, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic highlighted Hamilton as “a Defensive Player of the Year type of talent” who is “exactly the type of player and leader the Ravens pay and build around.”
In making the case for why Baltimore may not extend Hamilton, Zrebiec notes that he has played through a number of minor issues in just three seasons, so “if the Ravens are concerned about how he’ll hold up throughout his career, they have two more years to evaluate that.”
Zrebiec also notes that, given his talent and youth, Hamilton will be expecting to be paid as a top safety in the league, meaning that he could garner over $21 million per year. As Zrebiec writes, “Hamilton could blow that out of the water.” If that’s the case, there is a realistic chance that Hamilton could secure the first $100 million contract for a safety in league history.
“He’s almost certainly going to be the highest-paid safety in football,” writes Zrebiec. “It’s just a matter of when.”
Hamilton Played a Key Role in Ravens’ Defensive Turnaround During Second Half of 2024
Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports selected Hamilton as the top extension candidate for the Ravens, writing that “He could very well become the NFL’s highest-paid safety when Baltimore gets around to his extension.”
“The Notre Dame product was a key reason for the Ravens’ defensive turnaround to end the regular season and a stat sheet stuffer,” writes Sullivan.
When it comes to that defensive turnaround – which stemmed from Kyle Hamilton’s ability to serve as a proverbial Swiss army knife – Kay Adams of FanDuel TV described it as “the most dramatic midseason turnaround” she’d ever seen, following the Ravens’ 35-10 drubbing of the Cleveland Browns to close out the 2024 regular season.
“Over the last eight weeks the Ravens have gone from the bottom 10 in pretty much every category to first,” Adams said.
It’s not easy to find a playmaker who can move all around your defensive backfield and play at an All-Pro level. So, it may be wise for the Ravens to earmark $100 million for Hamilton following this season.
Hamilton Ranked No. 3 on PFF’s Top 25 Players Under 25 List
PFF‘s Jonathon Macri ranked the 24-year-old safety as the No. 3 player on his list of top 25 players under 25 years old, following only Penei Sewell and Puka Nacua.
Macri raves about Hamilton’s versatility, writing that it “makes him one of the most valuable safeties in the league.”
“Hamilton has quickly established himself as one of the league’s top safeties, finishing in the top three at his position in at least one of PFF overall grade, PFF coverage grade and PFF run-defense grade in each of his first three NFL seasons,” writes Macri.
“Hamilton plays with poise and maturity while allowing new Ravens DC Zach Orr to implement a dynamic and versatile scheme with multiple safeties on the field,” writes Glenn Erby of USA Today’s Ravens Wire.
“Of the five highest-paid safeties currently in the NFL, only Derwin James, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Winfield Jr. are more accomplished, meaning Hamilton could be the first $100 million safety in NFL history,” writes Erby.
Ravens’ 2-Time All-Pro Could Sign Record-Breaking $100 Million Extension