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One of their own players was signed by the Baltimore Ravens to a huge contract that will keep him wearing purple and black for the foreseeable future to start off their free agency. Priority one for Baltimore and general manager Eric DeCosta going into free agency was star defensive tackle Justin Madubuike.On March 8, the DT was released from the franchise tag by the Ravens after agreeing to a 4-year, $98 million contract. But according to Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report, the agreement was one of the “8 Riskiest Contracts Signed in 2024 NFL Free Agency.”
The history of free agency is replete with players who took advantage of a successful season to earn an even greater salary, only to never be able to reach those heights again, Davenport warned.
Madubuike’s incredible 2023 season can undoubtedly be categorised as a breakout since it saw him outperform nearly every statistical category from his first three NFL seasons.
“Madubuike stated he’s heard the rumours that the previous season was an anomaly—and he intends to disprove the sceptics and defend his lucrative second contract,” Davenport stated.
Will 2023 see Justin Madubuike Become the Average Person or the Outlier
As Madubuike was about to start his fourth year—and, more significantly, his contract year—his breakthrough came at the ideal moment. Initially, the large defensive tackle (DT) appeared more like a rotational player, but the Ravens selected him in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The defender started 14 games, totaled 55 tackles, had 7 quarterback hits, and 3.0 sacks in his first two seasons. As a 16-game starter in 2022, he began to show hints of a breakthrough year, setting career highs with 5.0 sacks, 42 total tackles, and 9 quarterback hits.
While these are commendable achievements, his 2023 performance much exceeded them. The Ravens made an attempt to sign the standout DT before the season, maybe anticipating the breakout, but Madubuike took a chance on himself.
“Yet, that incredible season was also an anomaly—over Madubuike’s first three professional seasons combined, the 26-year-old had just 8.5 sacks and 16 QB hits,” Davenport did write.
It’s easy to explain Madubuike’s breakthrough with more playing time and maturation. Madubuike is just 26 years old and about to hit his peak, so it’s obvious from his contract that the Ravens thought this was no coincidence.
“That possibility can’t be ruled out,” Daven
Davenport wrote, “That massive season earned Madubuike an equally massive payday—$98 million over four seasons. In terms of average annual salary, the only interior linemen who make more are Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs and Christian Wilkins of the Las Vegas Raiders.”
Both Jones and Wilkins were considered the premier DTs on the market as the expectation was that Madubuike would be originally franchised, which he was.
Just one day later, Jones inked a big five-year, $158.75 million ($31.75 million year) contract. Wilkins signed a four-year contract worth $110 million three days after Madubuike on March 11.
Given these two contracts, if the Ravens had taken longer to finalise Madubuike’s deal, he might have demanded more money.
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