Cardinals Sign DB Tyrann Mathieu To Five-Year, $62.5M Extension

August 2, 2016

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Cardinals are finalizing a a long-term extension with DB Tyrann Mathieu.

According to Adam Schefter, the Cardinals and Mathieu have agreed to a five-year, $62.5 million agreement that includes $40 million guaranteed.
Pro Football Talk reports that Mathieu receives a $15.5 million signing bonus with no requirement for him to pass a physical.
The contract includes $21.25 million fully guaranteed, according to PFT.
The year to watch for this contract will be the 2018 season, as the Cardinals can move on from Mathieu at that point, considering there’s nothing guaranteed until the first day of the 2018 league year, per PFT.

The two sides were reportedly trying to get a long-term extension in place before the start of training camp, but it looks they they manged to reach an agreement just a few days into camp.

Reports have said that Mathieu could look to surpass the new five-year, $51.25 million contract signed by Viking S Harrison Smith. However, it looks the Cardinals are paying him as a top-tier cornerback, as opposed to a safety.

Mathieu previously made it clear that he wants to spend the remainder of his career as a member of the Cardinals.

“We’re both eager, we’re both interested,” Mathieu said, via Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910. “I want to spend the rest of my career here. The biggest thing is getting my knee right, rehabbing and being ready for 2016.”

Mathieu, 24, is a former third-round pick of the Cardinals back in 2013, who has quickly become an impact player for one of the best defensive units in the NFL. He is entering the final year of his four-year, $3.052 million rookie contract that included $817,187 guaranteed and stands to make a base salary of $675,000 in 2016.

Unfortunately, Mathieu’s 2016 season was cut short after he suffered a season-ending ACL injury towards the end of the year.

In 2015, Mathieu appeared in 14 games and recorded 89 tackles, a sack, five interceptions with one being returned for a touchdown, a forced fumble and 16 pass defenses for the Cardinals. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 1 cornerback out of 111 qualifying players.