Breaking down the contract details of Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown extensions

A full breakdown of the Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown contract extensions.

On Wednesday, the Detroit Lions came to an agreement on two record-breaking deals for a pair of foundational pieces to the franchise. Both Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell got massive four-year extensions that essentially made them each the highest-paid players at their respective positions.

But early reports of contracts can often be misleading and rarely tell the entire story. So let’s break down each contract year-by-year now that the full details are out for each deal.

Amon-Ra St. Brown — Four year, $120.01M extension — $35.3M fully guaranteed, $16.5M signing bonus

Source: ProFootballTalk
More details: OverTheCap

Here’s the breakdown year-by-year:

2024 (from previous contract):

• $1.37 million salary (guaranteed)
• $3.3 million signing bonus proration (new money)
• $196,315 signing bonus proration from rookie contract
• $4,862,315 cap hit

2025 — $8.5 million option bonus hits

• $8.3 million salary (guaranteed)
• $100,00 roster bonus
• $510,000 in total in-game roster bonuses
• $3.3 million signing bonus proration
• $1.7 million option bonus proration
• $13,910,000 cap hit

2026

• $27.5 million salary (fully guaranteed in 2025)
• $100,00 roster bonus
• $510,000 in total in-game roster bonuses
• $3.3 million signing bonus proration
• $1.7 million option bonus proration
• $33,110,000 cap hit

2027

• $23.4 million salary ($7.42 million guaranteed in 2026, $7.42 million guaranteed in 2027)
• $100,00 roster bonus
• $510,000 in total in-game roster bonuses
• $3.3 million signing bonus proration
• $1.7 million option bonus proration
• $28,980,000 cap hit

2028:

• $35.4 million salary (no guarantees)
• $100,00 roster bonus
• $510,000 in total in-game roster bonuses
• $3.3 million signing bonus proration
• $1.7 million option bonus proration
• $41,010,000 cap hit

2029: Voided year

• $1.7 million dead cap

Like many contracts, St. Brown’s deal is heavily backloaded. For the next two years, St. Brown’s cap hit is extremely reasonable. His $4.86 cap hit in 2024 currently ranks 45th among receivers, and the jump to $13.9 million next year ranks 20th.

But then his salary takes a massive jump to $27.5 million in 2026, making him the fourth-highest costing receiver in 2026 ($33.1M), and the most expensive receiver in 2027 ($29M) and 2028 ($41M).

However, like many contracts, that final year looks like a dummy type of contract. With very little guaranteed money left on the books, it’s extremely likely that in 2028—when St. Brown is 29 years old—he’ll either be cut, restructured, or be given an entirely new deal.

Penei Sewell — Fifth-year option + Four year, $112.M extension — $43.0M fully guaranteed, $15M signing bonus

Source: ProFootballTalk
More details: OverTheCap

2024:

• $1.4 million salary (guaranteed)
• $3 million signing bonus proration (new money)
• $3.7 million in signing bonus proration from old contract
• $8,167,885 cap hit

2025 — Fifth-year option worth $19,040,000 is folded into the extension and distributed throughout the rest of the contract

• $1.54 million salary (guaranteed)
• $3 million in signing bonus proration
• $5 million in option bonus proration
• $9,540,000 cap hit

2026:

• $19.9 million salary (guaranteed in 2025)
• $100,000 workout bonus
• $3 million in signing bonus proration
• $5 million in option bonus proration
• $28,000,000 cap hit

2027:

• $23.9 million salary ($12.1M guaranteed in 2026, $10 million guaranteed in 2027)
• $100,000 workout bonus
• $3 million in signing bonus proration
• $5 million in option bonus proration
• $32,000,000 cap hit

2028:

• $25.9 million salary
• $100,000 workout bonus
• $3 million in signing bonus proration
• $5 million in option bonus proration
• $34,000,000 cap hit

2029:

• $19.4 million salary
• $2.5 million roster bonus
• $5 million option bonus proration
• $100,000 workout bonus
• $27,000,000 cap hit

As Albert Breer noted late on Wednesday, in addition to a four-year extension, the Lions also exercised Sewell’s fifth-year option, making this, practically-speaking, a five-year extension. The Lions appeared to fold in the fifth-year option into the new contract extension’s base salary, and the cap hit will be spread over the remainder of the contract.

Here’s where Sewell’s cap hit ranks each year compared to other offensive linemen:

2024: $8.2M — 50th
2025: $9.54M — 57th
2026: $28M — third
2027: $32M — first
2028: $34M — second
2029: $27M — first

What is perhaps most interesting is matching up the cap hits of Sewell and St. Brown side-by-side. It appears the Lions have purposely staggered some of the bigger cap hits so that they aren’t hitting in the same years:

2024:

• St. Brown: $4.9M
• Sewell: $8.2M

2025:

• St. Brown: $13.9M
• Sewell: $9.5M

2026:

• St. Brown: $33.1M
• Sewell: $28M

2027:

• St. Brown: $29.0M
• Sewell: $32M

2028:

• St. Brown: $41M (unlikely to see)
• Sewell: $34M

2029:

• Sewell: $27M

St. Brown’s biggest cap hit (that he’s likely to see) is in 2026, but then he takes a dip in 2027. That may be because in 2027, Sewell’s cap hit jump to $32 million.