Derwin James becomes highest paid safety in NFL history

Former FSU standout safety Derwin James has been in negotiations with the Los Angeles Chargers recently as he was nearing the end of his rookie deal.

He had been holding out of practice during negotiations but will return to practice after agreeing to a record setting four-year extension worth 76.532 million dollars.

James will receive 42-million guaranteed and a record-setting 29-million in year one.

He is now the highest paid safety in NFL history:

Fellow first-round selection and FSU teammate Jalen Ramsey with high-praise for Derwin James:

Thoughts

That’s great for Derwin James, and he absolutely deserves to receive recognition as the highest-paid safety in the NFL. The former No. 17 selection in the 2018 NFL Draft was the best safety in the draft, although he wasn’t the first safety taken, which is commonplace for most NFL franchises.

By that, I mean failing to recognize who the best players are, but that’s likely why teams that are terrible remain terrible. Derwin James has been a two-time NFL All-Pro, two-time Pro Bowler, and has had tremendous production when healthy.

He has battled a knee and foot injury since entering the NFL, missing most of the 2019 season and all of the 2020 season.

As Brandon Staley said above, James has incredible value because he can play so many positions at an elite level. Plus, he’s just turned 26 a couple of weeks ago, so he had a lot of elite years left on the table if he can stay injury free.

James becomes the second FSU player to be the highest-paid player at his position in the NFL. Former FSU cornerback Jalen Ramsey was the highest-paid cornerback in the league back in 2020.

Hopefully, this is something Mike Norvell and the coaching staff can point toward with future recruits. Derwin James played on an FSU team that finished 7-6 in 2017, but he was a first-round selection and is now the highest-paid safety in the league. Congrats to Derwin James on the monster contract!