Cowboys Reach An Agreement With ILB Sean Lee On A Six-Year Extension

Sean Lee‘s agent, Mike McCartney, announced that his client has reached an agreement with the Dallas Cowboys on a six-year extension.

• Lee receives $42 million in new money, but escalators can push that total up to $51 million. (Albert Breer)
• Lee’s contract will average $7 million per season and could increase to $8.5 million annually if he reaches incentives. (Alex Marvez)
• The escalators will require Lee to play 80 percent of the snaps each season. (Albert Breer)
• Lee will now be under team control through the 2019 season.

Here’s a look at some of top contracts for inside linebackers:

• Patrick Willis: Seven-years, $53.51 million total, $29 million guaranteed.
• NaVorro Bowman:  Seven-years, $46.37 million total, $25.5 million guaranteed
• Jon Beason: Six-years, $51.338 million total, $25 million guaranteed.
• Lawrence Timmons: Six-years, $50 million total, $11 million guaranteed.
• Sean Lee: Seven-years, $42.63 million total ($51M with escalators), $16.13 million guaranteed ($20M with escalators).

Lee, 27, was entering the final year of his contract and would have been one of the most sought after free agents on the open market. Dallas undoubtedly would have used their franchise tag on Lee to prevent him from signing elsewhere, as he has clearly been one of their top priorities.

Lee missed 10 games of the 2012 season due to severe kind of turf toe injury in which his ligaments were completely torn. He underwent offseason surgery to repair them. It’s also worth noting that Lee suffered a torn ACL while at Penn State, so he does have a concerning injury history.

We had Lee listed as the No. 8 best available player in our Top 50 – 2014 Free Agents list.