The Detroit Lions chose not to exercise their fifth-year team option on the contract of first-team All-Pro middle linebacker Jack Campbell this offseason, and Green Bay Packers superstar Micah Parsons is indirectly responsible for that decision.
To be clear, all Parsons did to earn his portion of the guilt was be awesome at his position and land a massive extension worth $186 million over four years, which reset the market at the time he signed the deal upon his trade to Green Bay from the Dallas Cowboys.
However, Parsons’ financial success impacted Campbell’s monetary future because the two are defined by the league as playing the same position. Parsons is, in reality, an edge-rusher and should be grouped with players like Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns or Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders.
But the NFL’s system instead calculates the fifth-year option for a traditional linebacker like Campbell by factoring in contracts signed by players like Parsons, who are technically linebackers by definition, but don’t play that position in reality.
“Micah Parsons affecting Jack Campbell’s 5th-year option number is an unbelievably stupid and broken system,” Sam Monson posted to X. “I can’t believe actual things are still being screwed up by the ‘outside linebacker’ designation.”
Lions Intend to Sign Jack Campbell to Longterm Extension
GettyDetroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell.
Only former first-round picks have fifth-year team options built into their rookie contracts, but Campbell falls into that category as the Lions’ No. 18 overall selection in 2023 out of Iowa.
He inked a $14.7 million deal over four years, which he will finish out during the 2026 campaign. But the team declined his fifth-year option, which totaled just shy of $22 million in 2027.
“Have learned the Lions are picking up the 5th-year option on RB Jahmyr Gibbs,” Dan Miller of FOX Detroit reported on X Tuesday, April 28. “They will not be picking up the 5th-year option on LB Jack Campbell. [With] that number near $22 million, they will look to work out a longterm deal that makes sense for both sides.”
Lions Hurt by NFL’s System on 5th-Year Options for First-Round Draft Picks
GettyDetroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell.
Detroit values Campbell, and it’s the Lions who are actually hurt more by the circumstances.
That is because the team pushing off Campbell’s extension for another season via the fifth-year option would allow more salary cap space this offseason to sign talented members of their 2023 class who weren’t first-round selections, namely tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch.
Detroit would have more flexibility to add talent to the roster by exercising Campbell’s fifth-year option, but doing so under the current system would creates an inequitable pay scale for the position. As good as Campbell has been, no off-ball linebacker in the NFL earns $22 million annually. Thus, paying him that amount resets the MLB market and damages the Lions.
Campbell and the team are almost certain to work out something longterm in the months ahead. But Monson’s point is that the NFL needs to update its positional classification system so that first-round picks can be paid accordingly in their fifth seasons, and teams aren’t penalized for drafting a player like a middle linebacker in Round 1.
Micah Parsons Blamed for Lions LB Jack Campbell Losing $22 Million