Joe Burrow Agrees to NFL Rookie Contract
Former Ohio State and LSU quarterback Joe Burrow has reportedly agreed to his rookie contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. Burrow's deal is a 4-year contract with a fifth year team option, valued at just over $36 million. The contract is pending a physical later this week and was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Burrow was the No. 1 overall selection in last April's NFL Draft after he had one of the all-time great seasons in College Football history. In fact, he received more than 1,800 more votes than runner-up Jalen Hurts for the Heisman Trophy, which gave him the largest margin of victory in the history of the award. He also claimed 90.7 percent of the total first place votes, breaking former Buckeye Troy Smith's record of 86.7 percent back in 2006. Burrow led LSU to the national championship, beating Clemson to win the title.
Despite all of his success down in the Bayou, Buckeye fans still claim Burrow as their own. He transferred to LSU after the 2017 season. He spent three years at Ohio State, including a redshirt season in 2015. Burrow played in 10 games for the Buckeyes in 2016 and 2017.
Burrow was born in Iowa, but attended Athens High School in The Plains, Ohio. He paid homage to his roots to end his acceptance speech last winter.
"When I lift this trophy, it's for LSU, Ohio State, Southeast Ohio and all of Louisiana," Burrow said. "Thank you."
Burrow's contract is one of the largest NFL rookie deals ever signed by a former Ohio State Buckeye, but it's not the largest. After being selected fifth overall in 2006, former Buckeye linebacker A.J. Hawk signed a 6-year, $37.5 million deal with the Green Bay Packers.
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