Denver Broncos defensive end Malik Jackson is on his way to Jacksonville to be a Jaguar. The early reports coming in say he will be paid $90 million over the next six seasons and $42 million of that will come in guaranteed money. That is what we call cashing in on a Super Bowl victory.
It's a 6-year deal for the #Jaguars and DT Malik Jackson. He'll sign when the league year opens tomorrow.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2016
The #Jaguars deal for DL Malik Jackson is 6 years, $90M with $42M guaranteed, source said. So, wow.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2016
Malik Jackson is good. Very good. We will find out just how good without Von and DeMarcus on bookends.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 8, 2016
The value of Jackson’s reported contract would make him the fifth highest-paid defensive lineman and sixth highest-paid defensive player in the entire NFL, behind only Ndamukong Suh, Justin Houston, JJ Watt, Marcell Dareus, and Gerald McCoy.
Things seem to change once you get “Super Bowl Champion” added to your career highlights and awards on Wikipedia. Teams will tend to view you in a more favorable way, and some may even be ready to go all in on your contract terms. If not for the talent alone, those teams simply want to add a winner to their roster, and how much more of a winner can you be than a Super Bowl champion?
Jackson scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl victory over the Carolina Panthers when he scooped up a fumble knocked loose by Von Miller from the hands of Cam Newton. Jackson’s touchdown was one of the more pivotal plays in the game (thanks to Miller, of course), and it certainly stands atop Jackson’s highlight tape. The former fifth-round draft pick of the Broncos out of Tennessee has recorded 134 tackles and 14.0 sacks since his 2012 rookie season. He has also forced two fumbles and recovered one. Now he will be getting $42 million in guaranteed money in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars already were on the hook for nine players on the defensive line at a cost of $23.3 million (seventh-highest in the NFL). The addition of Jackson could be coupled with another roster move or two of course, and things could look differently once free agency and the draft are behind us, but the Jaguars are clearly making a push to commit to the defensive line. Jacksonville ranked 21st in the league in total sacks and were 15th against the run. There is some room for improvement on the defensive line, but at what cost?
To his credit, there are some out there who believe Jackson will be among the free agents to have the most significant defensive impact in 2016, but given his track record to date, it would seem he is benefitting from being on a Super Bowl-winning team more than anything else. And hey, this is America gosh darn it. That’s what this country is all about!
What a time to be alive
— Malik Barron Jackson (@TheMalikJackson) March 8, 2016
You got that right.