James Harrison gets his pay day

Posted on April 13th, 2009. Written by Emmett Jones.

So, what kind of money can a defensive player of the year command?  A lot.

ESPN is reporting that the Steelers have resigned Steelers linebacker/2008 DPOY James Harrison to a contract extension.  Details below,

Steelers linebacker James Harrison cashed in on his incredible 2008 season by agreeing to a new contract Monday that is worth $51.175 million over the next six seasons, according to a source.

He was scheduled to make $1.4 million this season, the final year of his contract.

Included in the contract is about $20 million in bonuses, the source said.

Living in Pittsburgh, and having the opportunity to be around Harrison at the MDA MuscleTeam event, I’m  happy to see that we were able to keep him.  He’s obviously great on the field, and seems to be involved in some great community events off the field as well.  Even more surprising is how much the Steelers, who are notorious for frugal spending, spent on his contract.  Even though I’m sure a lot of the money is coming on the back end, the Steelers paying someone an average of in between $9 and $8 million a year is pretty impressive.  Compare that to safety Troy Polamalu’s deal a few years ago, and it looks like the Steelers are willing to spend the extra money on their superstar players.

ESPN — Source: Harrison gets $20 M in bonuses

1 Responses »

Additional comments powered by BackType