Brad Holmes made sure to lock up one of the best young players on the Detroit Lions roster, signing linebacker Jack Campbell to a new four-year contract worth $81 million, including $51.5 million guaranteed.
The contract ties Campbell to the Lions through 2030, and also makes him the second highest paid player in the NFL at his position, only behind Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers.
Detroit Lions LB Jack Campbell Is At Home In The Motor City
Speaking at the club’s training facility in Allen Park on Wednesday, Campbell reiterated that he and his wife love the area, and that it feels like home for him.
“I told (Lions general manager) Brad (Holmes) this, the number one thing for me through this whole entire process was to remain a Lion because I want to be a part of this,” Campbell said. “I want to be a part of this organization. Me and my wife absolutely love it here. People have just been so nice to us and it just feels like home.”
Campbell then said that he didn’t want to feel like he was the highest-paid player at his position, but that his main focus was helping the team.
“Let’s be realistic here, I already have more than enough, so for me it was more about the principle of I just want to be in the elite category, because I feel like I’m an elite linebacker, and that’s the way Brad (Holmes) saw it, and that’s the way everyone up there saw it” Campbell said. “I feel like for me, I don’t need to be the highest paid, even though the guys around the league would probably appreciate that, because it bumps up everything, so I’m sorry to them, but I just feel like, for me, like, I knew what I wanted in this, I want to help the team in any ways possible, just to continue to keep the core together.
So, I mean, at the end of the day, I feel like it was fair for the team, and I’m more than happy with everything that they blessed me with.”
Campbell, who earned All-Pro honors for his season, registered 176 total tackles (89 solo), five sacks, and three forced fumbles for the Lions.
Jack Campbell Is Proud Of What He’s Accomplished So Far
The Lions selected Campbell in the first round (18th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Iowa, where he earned unanimous All-American honors.
And while he’s proud of what he’s accomplished, he knows it’s all part of a process.
“It’s funny, I remember that like it was yesterday. It was just a big moment in my life. I worked and achieved what I wanted to achieve, which is to make it to the NFL,” said Campbell. “I kind of had a near-sighted vision. I didn’t think it would turn into this at first. I feel like that’s kind of my perspective on things, kind of what you got to do. I got to go earn a spot. Now, I can’t come into this thinking I’m going to be an All-Pro first. Like, there are just steps to everything.”
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