LB Shaquil Barrett Staying In Tampa With New Four-Year, $72M Deal

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not being shy about taking care of their own. On the first day of the NFL's 'new year,' the team paid out a whopping $72 million dollars to outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that $36 million is fully guaranteed.

The deal is a massive one for the edge rusher, as the base deal averages $17 mil per season, and there's also escalators that could push it all the way to $18 million per season.

Barrett's last two seasons have been outstanding for the Bucs. He wrapped up 2019 with a league-leading 19.5 sacks, and this past season, he complied 11.5 sacks as Tampa took home the Super Bowl.

He turned it up in the postseason, recording four sacks between the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LV. He and the rest of the defense held Patrick Mahomes and the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs offense to just nine points.

Many had Barrett listed as one of the top free agents available for the taking in 2021, but now the Bucs have him locked up for themselves for the next four years.

The Bucs have also looked at the offensive side of the ball, using the franchise tag on wide receiver Chris Godwin for $15.808 million. They have inked inside linebacker Lavonte David to a two-year deal worth $25 million, and re-signed backup inside linebacker and special teams captain Kevin Minter for the league minimum.

Not bad early on for the Super Bowl champs who, with Tom Brady, are already thinking about going 'back-to-back' in 2021.