A great day for DeAndre Hopkins as he signed the contract extension he has been waiting for since his trade to the Arizona Cardinals. The 2-year contract extension is worth a whopping $54.5 million, with $42.5 million guaranteed. The $27.25 per year extension makes Hopkins the highest paid non-quarterback in the history of the league.
Hopkins is likely to become the face of the Arizona Cardinals franchise once their current star, Larry Fitzgerald retires. With the addition of the contract extension, the Cardinals will keep DeAndre Hopkins through the 2024 season. Hopkins will be earning an average of $18.8 million a year, with a $94 million total contract.
The deal was self negotiated by Hopkins himself and did not use an agent in the process. The deal includes a no-franchise-tag clause as well as a no-trade clause. Hopkins tweeted a picture of himself with the caption, “Agent Hop,” after the contract was finalized and signed. He told sources that he would like to be a part of a front office someday and figured this was a good way to work on those skills before his playing days have ended. Hopkins stated, “I know that one day I want to be part of an organization to help build it, so I feel like this was a good time to learn and study everything that hopefully one day I’ll be doing. So, I think also just showing other players that you can get things done yourself.”
The Arizona Cardinals acquired DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth-round draft pick from the Houston Texans back in March, who received running back David Johnson, a second-round draft pick, and a 2021 fourth-round draft pick. At the time of the trade, Hopkins was hoping for a contract negotiation from the Texans, so he wanted to continue that after the move out to Arizona. It seems Steve Keim, Arizona Cardinals General Manager, and DeAndre Hopkins were able to find a way to keep him happy and around for the long haul.
The 28-year old wide receiver has had an impressive career thus far. He has the most targets in the NFL, second-most touchdowns, and third-most catches since 2013. With the Arizona Cardinals making moves in the offseason and having a young quarterback like Kyler Murray throwing to Hopkins, it will be interesting to see where the team falls this season.
The NFL season officially kicks off this Thursday, September 10th. You can catch DeAndre Hopkins, and the rest of the Arizona Cardinals take on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, September 13th at 1:25 MT.
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