After a record-breaking season, defensive tackle Derrick Brown has agreed to terms on a contract extension with the Carolina Panthers, the NFL team announced on Friday.
Brown will sign a four-year contract extension with the Panthers that has a value of $96 million, including $63.165 million in guaranteed money, and ESPN reported.
The former Auburn All-American recorded 103 tackles in 17 games last season – 11 more than any other NFL defensive lineman had in 2023. Since tackles became an official statistic in 2001, Brown had five more than any other defensive tackle had recorded in one season.
Brown also had two sacks, seven tackles for loss, 15 quarterback hits, one interception and five pass break-ups during his fourth NFL season.
Brown piled up his stats while playing 940 defensive snaps, the third-most among the league’s linemen in 2023.
The Panthers already had ensured Brown would be back for the 2024 season by exercising their option for a fifth year on his rookie contract last offseason.
As the seventh player picked in the 2020 NFL Draft, Brown signed a four-year contract worth $23.621 million. Every drafted player gets a four-year contract, and those for first-round draft choices carry a team option for a fifth season. By picking up its fifth-year option, Carolina guaranteed Brown a $11.665 million payday for the 2024 season and kept him from becoming a free agent after the 2023 campaign.
The contract extension is designed to keep Brown with Carolina through the 2028 season.
Brown was a unanimous All-American selection at Auburn in 2019, when he won the Lott IMPACT Trophy.