The Washington Redskins have a history of throwing money into the wind in hopes of attracting some significant free agents. They just threw a whole truckload of money at Josh Norman, who was recently put on the market after being let go by the Carolina Panthers, who could not reach a contract agreement with the rising cornerback.
Washington has signed Norman to a five-year contract valued at a reported $75 million (with $50 million guaranteed), according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
Norman was cut loose by the defending NFC champions just two days ago, despite previously being given the franchise tag, after which he fired his agent and hired a new one. That new agent got right to work it seems, and Washington made quick work of their pitch to Norman. Norman visited Washington with his mother by his side and the player and team agreed to terms of the new deal Friday afternoon.
So, how does Norman’s new contract stack up against other notable cornerbacks around the NFL? Glad you asked. He is now making more than Darrelle Revis and Patrick Peterson, who each also have five-year contracts with their respective teams. Norman is just getting paid slightly more.
Josh Norman’s $15M AAV ranks:
1st among CBs
9th among Defensive players
2nd among #Redskinshttps://t.co/APuOgiaklQ— Spotrac (@spotrac) April 23, 2016
Contracts will always trend upward of course, and Norman is coming off his best season at the age of 28, so he still has some good legs in him. IF you are Washington though, you just have to be wary of going all in on a player coming off a career year. Maybe Norman will continue to establish himself as one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL. It’s not as though Washington hasn’t been burned before, right?
Norman has been in the NFL for four years now, with seven interceptions and 181 tackles with 36 deflected passes. Of course, Norman will need some of that incoming dough to pay to keep his preferred uniform number, because Duke Ihenacho is already preparing to make Norman pay for the uniform number.
So Norman is heading to the NFC East, where he will likely be matching up with New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. twice a season. Things between those two got quite testy last season in a regular season blowout by the Panthers in New Jersey, with Beckham Jr. taking some very cheap and dangerous shots at Norman with his helmet. Beckham claimed the Panthers were taunting him in pregame warmups with a baseball bat. The tension boiled over on to the field, leading to some very embarrassing displays.
And now we get that animosity two times a year!