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Marcell Dareus is now the highest-paid player in Buffalo Bills history - surpassing teammate Mario Williams - having just agreed to a six-year, $100 million contract extension, first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter. The deal also includes $60 million guaranteed.
Bills signed Marcel Dareus to a six-year, $108 million extension, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 10, 2015
Marcel Dareus' deal includes $60 million in guaranteed money, highest guarantee for a non-QB in NFL history. Dareus suspended week 1, too.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 10, 2015
The deal was initially reported as six years and $108 million, but it's actually a six-year, $100 million deal that adds onto the final year of Dareus' rookie deal. That one year will pay him $8.06 million, and then the new contract will kick in, making the contract a seven-year accord worth $108 million in total.
Dareus was vocal less than a month ago about the lack of progress being made in contract talks, but evidently the relationship was not so bad that the two sides couldn't close the gap quickly. The Bills have hit their goal of re-signing their best player by the start of the 2015 regular season. Dareus will begin earning his new contract when he returns to the field in Week 2, following his one-game suspension this week.
The aforementioned Williams signed a six-year, $96 million deal with $50 million guaranteed with the Bills in 2012. Dareus' deal now eclipses his as the richest in team history, though it falls just short of the free agent deal Miami gave to Ndamukong Suh this past spring. The Bills also gave Kyle Williams a one-year, $10.5 million contract extension earlier this offseason, and re-signed pass rusher Jerry Hughes to a five-year, $45 million deal with $22 million guaranteed in March, as well.
Long story short: Buffalo's ultra-productive defensive line are now seriously rich dudes across the board, and they're going to be playing together as a quartet for quite a while. And, in Dareus, the Bills have locked up the centerpiece of their defense for seven more years.
.@buffalobills GM Doug Whaley issued the following statement regarding DT Marcell Dareus' contract extension pic.twitter.com/NJWfmjLvCS
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) September 10, 2015