Thursday 19 March 2020 14:00, UK
The Philadelphia Eagles have made Darius Slay the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback after trading third and fifth-round picks to acquire him from the Detroit Lions, according to multiple reports.
Slay has signed a three-year £50m extension ($16.67m per season) with £30m guaranteed.
That means he will earn more than Byron Jones, who was briefly the NFL's highest-paid cornerback after signing a five-year $85.5m ($16.5m per season) deal with the Miami Dolphins earlier this week.
The 29-year-old will be reunited with Eagles defensive co-ordinator Jim Schwartz, who was Slay's head coach in Detroit when he drafted by the Lions in the second round of the 2013 draft.
ESPN's Josina Anderson reported on Wednesday night that the Eagles were to attempting to acquire the 29-year-old, who was going into the final year of his $48.15m contract with Detroit.
The Lions appeared to fill Slay's position on Wednesday when they agreed to a two-year $21m deal with cornerback Desmond Trufant.
Trufant, who reportedly will get $14m guaranteed, had been cut by the Atlanta Falcons earlier in the day.
After news of the Trufant deal broke, Slay congratulated his fellow cornerback on Twitter, then added, "Hope that speeds up my trade process!!"
Slay was a first-team All-Pro in 2017, when he led the NFL with eight interceptions and 26 passes defended, and he has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of the past three seasons.
A second-round pick of the Lions in 2013 out of Mississippi State, Slay made four starts as a rookie before moving into the starting line-up permanently in 2014. He has missed only six games the past six seasons.
In 14 games last year, Slay had two interceptions, 13 passed defended and 46 tackles. In 103 career games (94 starts), he has 19 interceptions, 104 passes defensed, 347 tackles and one sack.
