The Arizona Cardinals agreed to a massive five-year contract extension with Patrick Peterson, locking up their No. 1 cornerback.
The Arizona Cardinals and cornerback Patrick Peterson agreed to a sizable contract extension, the player announced on Twitter late Tuesday. Peterson tweeted that his deal is a five-year extension worth a total of $70 million, with $48 million guaranteed. It's a massive contract, and the total value exceeds the deals signed by Richard Sherman and Joe Haden.
Happy to announce my 5 year extension with @AZCardinals! $70M and $48M Guaranteed!! #AZCardinals#P2Nation#YearOfTheCardinal
— Patrick Peterson (@RealPeterson21) July 30, 2014Want to thank my family, friends and teammates, all of #P2Nation and the best agents in the biz @chafiefields and Joel! #AZCardinals
— Patrick Peterson (@RealPeterson21) July 30, 2014Peterson has been one of the top cornerbacks in the league since the Cardinals made him the No. 5 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He's been named to a Pro Bowl all three years and was a first-team All-Pro in 2011 and 2013. He and Sherman have been arguing throughout the offseason about which player is the better cornerback. The contracts they landed are similar, too.
Sherman re-upped with the Seattle Seahawks on a four-year, $56 million extension with $40 million guaranteed. Peterson's deal has one more year and $8 million more in guarantees. If you take the average Sherman will make each year ($14 million), that's how much more Peterson's deal is in total, so aside from the guarantees, they're making about the same. According to Kent Somers of azcentral sports reports the $48 million is only fully guaranteed for injury.
Peterson's base salary for 2014 is just $2.9 million, provided this is a true extension and does not affect this coming season. Obviously, he'll be making significantly more than that in 2015 and onward.
Congrats to my brother @RealPeterson21 nobody more deserving than him. Great person and great professional !!! All blessings bro 70mil
— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) July 30, 2014