Since his breakout game as a rookie, Amon-Ra St. Brown has the most catches in the NFL. And now he has a contract to match it.
The Lions have signed St. Brown to a four-year extension reportedly worth more than $120 million, making him the highest-paid receiver in the NFL -- just surpassing Tyreek Hill of the Dolphins, who makes $30 million per year on the nose. The terms of the deal, including $77 million guaranteed, also the most for any receiver, were first reported by the NFL Network.
St. Brown later confirmed the news with a video of himself celebrating inside Ford Field, saying, "I can't wait. I'm here, four more years, it's up, it's turnt. Detroit, what up, doe?" His extension will kick in after the upcoming season and run through 2028. St. Brown will make $3.4 million in 2024 in the final year of his rookie deal, after which he would have been an unrestricted free agent.
A fourth-round pick in 2021, St. Brown has ascended to superstar status in the NFL. His launch started in Week 13 of his rookie season when he caught 10 passes including the walk-off touchdown against the Vikings in the Lions' first win under Dan Campbell.
Since then, St. Brown has caught the most passes (276) in the NFL for the fourth most yards (3,236) -- trailing only Hill, Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb -- and the fourth most touchdowns (21) -- tied with Hill, Lamb and Ja'Marr Chase. Chase was one of the 16 receivers drafted ahead of St. Brown in 2021 whose names St. Brown has memorized and written down on a list in his locker that he consults before each practice. He has more catches than all of them.
St. Brown embodies everything the Lions are about under Campbell and Brad Holmes, a living, breathing, unceasing example of grit. It was no coincidence that he caught the pass that sealed the Lions' first playoff win in 32 years last season and helped them reach the NFC title game. Asked this offseason what makes St. Brown special, Campbell said, "What doesn’t make him special?" The Sun God makes hard work shine.
"Everything he does is why he’s who he is, his work ethic, his desire, his will to overcome, the amount of film he watches, his pre-practice warmup, his post-practice routine," said Campbell. "And everything he does, it’s not lip service. He literally does everything he can possibly do to be the best. And that’s why, there’s no secret. Just walk around with him. Why don’t you go live with him for a while if you really want to know what it looks like? Half the guys would say, 'I’m gonna be great.' And they’d go and they would quit day two or three. This guy just keeps going."
Last season, St. Brown's best in the NFL yet, he finished tied for second in catches (119), third in yards (1,515) and tied for fourth in touchdowns (10). He was named AP first-team All-Pro alongside Hill and Lamb.
That is the company St. Brown keeps. And now the Lions will be keeping him in Detroit for four more years.