The Detroit Lions surprised a lot of people outside of Detroit, and basically nobody in Detroit, when they didn’t pick up All-Pro linebacker Jack Campbell’s fifth-year option.

On the outside, some took this as the Lions not having enough money to pay him, and that he’ll be hitting free agency next year. Some wrote up articles about why their team should trade for him. In reality, this was the Lions being smart with their money by not paying him a fully guaranteed near $22 million in 2027.

That, of course, does not mean the Lions don’t want him or don’t want to pay him. they defintiley do and they definitely will. Here are three different extensions the Lions could pay Campbell to make up for the lack of that fifth-year option.

Make Campbell one of the top five highest-paid linebackers in the league

Let’s be honest, this feels like the least likely situation here. Campbell just made first team All-Pro, and he’s still just 25-years-old. The Lions are likely going to have to pay him big time. This is a big deal, and it’s fair, but it might not be enough. I

n this scenario, Campbell gets a four-year extension worth $80 million. It would put him at $20 million AAV (average annual value). That makes him the second or third highest-paid linebacker in the league. It’s not a bad deal, but I do know how the Lions like to take care of their guys. I’m just not sure it’s the best deal.

Year-by-Year Cap Hits & Dead Money

Year	Base Salary	Prorated Bonus	Cap Hit	Dead Money
2026	$1.3M	$4.67M	$5.97M	$48M
2027	$3.2M	$4.67M	$7.87M	$41M
2028	$12.5M	$4.67M	$17.17M	$32M
2029	$17M	$4.67M	$21.67M	$18.67M
2030 (void)	—	$4.67M	$4.67M	$9.34M
2031 (void)	—	$4.67M	$4.67M	$4.67M

Make Campbell the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL by AAV

Doing it this way gives Campbell and four year extension worth $96 million. This would pay him about $24 million on average per year. He’d have $60 million guaranteed. That would tie him with Roquan Smith for the most guaranteed money by a linebacker. Not a bad deal at all. The Lions get some low-cap hits earlier on, and they can do a restructure in 2028, theoretically.

Year	Base Salary	Prorated Bonus	Cap Hit	Dead Money

2026

$1.5M

$6.67M

$8.17M

$60M

2027

$3.5M

$6.67M

$10.17M

$52M

2028

$17M

$6.67M

$23.67M

$40M

2029

$22M

$6.67M

$28.67M

$26.67M

2030 (void)

—

$6.67M

$6.67M

$13.34M

2031 (void)

—

$6.67M

$6.67M

$6.67M

Give Campbell the most guaranteed money for a linebacker in NFL history

This would make the deal a lot bigger. It would be a four-year deal worth $104 million. In the second example, Campbell would have made the most out of any linebacker annually, but Smith’s $100 million deal was still the king. In this case, Campbell is the flat-out man in terms of linebackers getting paid. In total, and annually. They still get to keep their lower cap hits early on, though.

Year	Base Salary	Prorated Bonus	Cap Hit	Dead Money

2026

$1.2M

$8.67M

$9.87M

$80M

2027

$2.8M

$8.67M

$11.47M

$70M

2028

$16M

$8.67M

$24.67M

$56M

2029

$24M

$8.67M

$32.67M

$40M

2030 (void)

—

$8.67M

$8.67M

$26M

2031 (void)

—

$8.67M

$8.67M

$17.33M

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