The Detroit Lions chose not to sign Ndamukong Suh to a second contract after his rookie deal expired a decade ago, and the former All-Pro defensive tackle feels the logic for that decision was flawed.
Suh played for Detroit for five seasons after they drafted him with the No. 2 overall pick in 2010. In the caption of a recent video he shared on Facebook, the five-time Pro Bowl tackle criticized the Lions for giving him “the short end of the stick” when he was first eligible for free agency after the 2014 season.
The Lions had already signed Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson to massive extensions before Suh’s rookie deal was up. Suh says the team did not want to pay him more than Stafford was making, which he thinks was a mistake.
“They didn’t value me enough, to say, ‘Hey, you’re not going to get paid more than our quarterback.’ … I was a cornerstone of the Detroit Lions, just like Stafford, just like Calvin, but the pay never matched the weight I carried,” Suh wrote, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “I wasn’t just a defensive tackle. I was the guy offenses game-planned for. I was the one of the guys setting the tone in the locker room and on the field. And while quarterbacks get the big checks, I was the one putting my body on the line every play, chasing down QBs.
“They built the offense around (Stafford). They built the identity of the defense around the Dline (sic) and me! You don’t talk about the Lions of that era without mentioning Calvin Johnson or Matthew Stafford, myself and our Dline (sic)! So yeah… I believed I should’ve been paid like them, Because impact isn’t just about stats, it’s about presence, influence, folks wanting to play with you and for you ! Lesson… If you’re carrying the load, on the field or in business, don’t be afraid to ask for what you’re worth. Because being valuable and being valued are two different things!”
Suh signed a 6-year, $114 million deal with the Miami Dolphins as a free agent in 2014. At the time, the contract made him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.
The main issue for the Lions was that Suh’s first NFL contract predated the rookie wage scale that was established as part of the collective bargaining agreement in 2011. This year, the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft received a contract worth $46.5 million, as pre-negotiated with the rookie wage scale. Suh’s first NFL deal was worth $68 million with $40 million guaranteed, and that was when the salary cap was a lot lower.
The Lions simply were not in position to pay Stafford, Johnson and Suh while managing their salary cap. Suh continued to have a big impact and made another Pro Bowl after he left Detroit, but no one will ever know if re-signing him would have given the Lions a better chance to contend for a title. He certainly seems convinced that it would have.
