DJ Wonnum's Lions Contract: A Closer Look

It's March 23rd, on Cori with the story, and this is NFL News today, your AI-powered

football briefing.

Detroit Lions fans got excited about DJ-1M signing when it was first reported as a one-year

deal worth up to $6 million.

Turns out, the real value is closer to $3 million, with $2.27 million guaranteed.

That includes a fully guaranteed base salary of $1.37 million, a $900,000 signing bonus,

and various per-game-and, workout bonuses up to $730,000.

The total cap hit comes in at just under $3 million.

Media outlets often caution against overreacting to early contract reports, and this is a perfect

example.

Those inflated figures usually come from incentives that might not hit the cap right away.

One of them's deal ranks 74th out of 212 edge-rusher contracts in average annual value, which

keeps it modest for the position.

Fans hope for a bigger splash at edge, but this is a step up from last year's deal for

Marcus Davenport, who got $2.5 million after a 6.5 million, packed the prior season.

Both players share similar early-down roles, though Wannum brings more reliability after injury

issues sideline Davenport.

Compared to outquodding Mohamed's $4 million one-year deal, Wannum's looks smaller on paper,

but Mohamed's bonuses count more against the cap.

Now because they're seen as likely to be earned from his 11-sack year, the difference

boils down to performance incentives.

Mohamed's big bonuses hit the cap up front since he crushed them last season, while

Wannum's three sacks mean his won't until proven, stripped those away, and both are

in the 3-4 million range.

Lions still need a third-down specialist to replace Mohamed, so they might add more at

edge before next month's draft rafts things up.