Olivier Vernon Signs Massive, $85 Million Deal ($52.5 million guaranteed) With New York Giants

Olivier Vernon is going to be paid more than J.J. Watt. Let that sink in for a minute. The New York Giants just handed Vernon a five-year, $85 million deal with $52.5 million in guaranteed money.

When Watt signed his six-year, $100 million extension, he got $51.876 million guaranteed. I like Vernon as a player, but he isn’t J.J. Watt. Vernon’s deal pays him the most ever for a defensive end.

The Giants are clearly taking the example of the Denver Broncos to heart as they have beefed up their defensive front to an impressive degree in the last two days. Earlier on Wednesday they agreed to a five-year, $46.25 million deal ($24 million guaranteed) with defensive tackle Damon Harrison, that came after re-signing Jason Pierre-Paul on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old Vernon has not missed a game during his four-year career, and boasts a total of 29 sacks. In 2015 he had 7.5 sacks to go along with 61 combined tackles. Despite paltry numbers for a defensive end, Pro Football Focus rated him as an All-Pro for 2015. At 6-foot-2 and 275 pounds, he is a disruptive force off the edge, even if his statistic don’t show it.

Vernon’s new deal now ranks third all-time in guaranteed money given to a defensive player. Now-former teammate Ndamukong Suh’s six-year, $114 million deal ($59.955 million guaranteed) is the biggest ever handed out to a defender.

This is terrible news for the Denver Broncos, since the price tag for Von Miller just went through the roof.