What Daron Payne's New Deal Could Mean for Dexter Lawrence

What might Daron Payne's new contract mean for the Giants and Dexter Lawrence as they try to hammer out an extension?

The Washington Commanders have reportedly reached a new deal with defensive tackle Daron Payne, their franchise player. The deal, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, is for four years and $90 million with $60 million guaranteed, an average of $22.5 million per season. 

Sources: Washington’s franchise player Daron Payne became the highest-paid DT in NFL history not named Aaron Donald, reaching agreement today on a four-year, $90 million deal that includes $60 million guaranteed. pic.twitter.com/ZJsM2xnaSp

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2023

Payne's new contract puts him below Aaron Donald of the Rams among the highest-paid per year interior defensive linemen. More importantly, it provides a new framework for the New York Giants, who are looking to extend defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, who is set to count for $12.407 million against this year's cap thanks to the team exercising the option year of his rookie contract.

Giants general manager Joe Schoen has made no secret of his desire to extend Lawrence's contract to lower the cap number, noting that the signing bonus alone would likely cover the $12.407 million in cash that Lawrence is guaranteed to receive this coming year.

Payne, like Lawrence, is a first-round draft pick. He entered the NFL in 2018, one year before Lawerence. Thus while Payne has appeared in more games than Lawrence (81 to 64), the two players have been highly productive for their respective teams.

Payne has recorded 161 solo tackles to Lawernce's 116. Lawrence, who graded out as Pro Football Focus's second-best interior defensive lineman, has three more (58) quarterback hits than Payne.

Payne has more tackles for loss (40 to 21) and sacks (26 to 16.5) than his Giants counterpart. 

Payne and Lawrence share the same agent, Joel Segal of WME Football. The template used in the Payne contract could serve Segal and the Giants well in reaching an extension for Lawrence, who, per Spotrac, has a projected market value of $14.1 million per year (based on a four-year, $56.424 million contract).

Much like the $19.4 million APY projected by Spotrac for Payne, that projection appears too low for a player that had a breakout year as an every-down player for the Giants defense.

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