The Los Angeles Rams reached an agreement with newly acquired cornerback Trent McDuffie on a record four-year, $124 million contract extension that makes him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history, according to ESPN. The deal includes $100 million guaranteed and sets McDuffie up to earn an average of $31 million per year.
The expectation when the Rams agreed to a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs on March 4 was that they would come to terms on a new contract for McDuffie. It took a matter of days for them to lock up their prized defensive back for the long term. McDuffie will join the Rams officially when the new league year begins on March 11 in return for four draft picks.
McDuffie was set to enter the final season of his contract when the Chiefs picked up his fifth-year option. General manager Brett Veach put the two-time All-Pro on the trade block, though, instead of paying up to keep him beyond 2026. McDuffie would have made $13.6 million on his old contract but will instead make more than double that figure in his debut season in Los Angeles.
It was a cost-cutting measure for the Chiefs, who entered the offseason more than $57 million over the salary cap and still needed to shed space in advance of the new league year. On the other side of the deal, the Rams secured an immediate elite contributor to a roster they hope is capable of winning a Super Bowl as soon as next year. They filled a spot in their greatest position group of need in the process.
McDuffie was always going to get paid; it was just a matter of whether it would be with the Chiefs or another team. In the end, the Rams agreed to pay him the biggest annual salary the NFL has ever seen at his position — nearly $1 million more than what Sauce Gardner earns with the Indianapolis Colts.
NFL’s highest-paid cornerbacks
Salary data via Over The Cap
McDuffie’s play over the first four years of his career justified the payday. He slotted in as a first-year contributor in Kansas City in 2022 and played an integral role in the Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowl runs that year and the next. McDuffie racked up three interceptions and 34 passes defended across his four years in the AFC West, and he tacked on eight forced fumbles, including five in the 2023 season alone.