The Houston Texans have made J.J. Watt the highest paid defensive player in the NFL. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans and Watt agreed to a six-year extension worth $100 million. With wait for it…
$51.876 million guaranteed.
Steven’s Take
Watt is clearly worth the money, especially since I just named him the Defensive Player of the Year in my 2014 Prediction Show. Just look at that guaranteed money! That is the largest amount of guaranteed money ever given to a defensive player. It is almost $2 million more that the Buffalo Bills gave Mario Williams when they signed him away from Houston.
Watt is one of the best defensive players in the league today and he still had two years left on his rookie contract. However, I just cannot imagine paying a defensive end the kind of money quarterbacks are making. Having a disruptive defensive player is great, but one defensive player alone is not going to win you many games. The Texans have been trying to create a super defense over the past six years, and it has yet to pay dividends.