Joey Bosa and the Los Angeles Chargers came to terms on a five-year extension worth up to $135 million. The deal includes $102 million in guaranteed money. That's a new record for a defensive player, surpassing Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
Bosa's $27 million average annual salary makes him football's highest-paid defender, according to Spotrac.
Bosa is excited and grateful to have the deal done. The defender doesn't, however, expect the record amount to stand for very long. Instead, he believes it has merely helped reset the market in the right direction.
Bosa even hinted that maybe the San Francisco 49ers should start saving up for a few years down the road when his brother, Nick Bosa, is ready for his new deal.
"It's hard to even comprehend, with all the amazing players that have come before me and will come after me," Bosa told Chargers reporters via a video conference call on Monday. "It will probably be a short-lived record, which is great because I'm happy to just set the bar.
"Maybe my brother, in a few years, will surpass me, I'm sure of that. But for now, it means the world, obviously."
#Chargers DE Joey Bosa says his record-setting extension "will probably be a short-lived record." Mentions that his younger brother has a good chance of beating it a few years down the line.
— Jason B. Hirschhorn (@by_JBH) August 3, 2020
Of course, news of Joey Bosa anticipating a future mega-deal for this younger brother probably won't send shockwaves through the NFL landscape. That deal might come years from now, as the market matures. Still, there is no doubting the potential in the young 49ers defender.
Nick Bosa just finished his rookie NFL campaign and recorded nine regular-season sacks and four postseason sacks along the way to a Pro Bowl selection and being named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
The younger Bosa's pass-rushing productivity rating of 9.7 by Pro Football Focus led all rookies last season, and his 80 pressures are the most ever recorded by the analytics site and 14 more than any other rookie edge defender since 2006 when the site started tracking data.
Bosa's rookie deal doesn't expire until after the 2022 season, and even beyond that, the 49ers have a fifth-year option and then the franchise tag at their disposal. However, if his rookie performance is any indication of things to come, it would behoove San Francisco to look into getting a deal done before that last option comes into play.
The 49ers made Bosa the No. 2 overall pick last year. He exceeded the lofty expectations set while leaving Ohio State and entering his first NFL season, proving to be a dominant force and deference-maker along San Francisco's defensive front.
