Cowboys Sign LB Jaylon Smith To Five-Year, $64M Extension

According to Ian Rapoport, the Cowboys and LB Jaylon Smith have agreed to a contract extension. 

Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones told reporters that Smith signed a five-year contract extension worth $64 million with $35.5 million guaranteed.

Smith was set to be a restricted free agent following the season. He’s the first of a number of Cowboys in line for extensions to sign a deal, including Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper and Ezekiel Elliott. 

Last week, Smith made it clear that he was hoping to remain in Dallas for the remainder of his career. 

“I want to be a Cowboy. I want to be a Cowboy for the rest of my life,” Smith said. “Understanding what they’ve done for me, taking a chance, taking a risk. Now they’re getting the return on their investment. It’s a beautiful thing to be a Dallas Cowboy.

Smith, 23, was a second-round pick by the Cowboys out of Notre Dame in the 2016 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year, $6,494,970 rookie contract and is set to earn a base salary of $1,335,678 this season. 

In 2018, Smith appeared in all 16 games for the Cowboys and recorded 121 total tackles, six tackles for loss, four sacks, two forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, four pass defenses, and scored one defensive touchdown. Pro Football Focus rated him as the No. 6 overall linebacker out of 92 qualifiers.