Lions' Aidan Hutchinson explains why he signed extension during the season
Detroit Lions pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson secured his financial future when he signed a four-year contract extension worth $180M with $141M in guarantees back in October.
However, the perception is that he could have secured an even more lucrative deal if he had waited until the offseason to sign. In a piece by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Eric Woodyard on Tuesday, Hutchinson explained why he accepted his extension during the season.
Aidan Hutchinson reveals "priority" regarding contract negotiations
"There's a lot of factors that went into it, but ultimately, I know I wanted to be in Detroit, and that was the goal," Hutchinson explained. "Obviously, as a player, you have a responsibility when you're in the echelon of players that I'm in to continue to push the market up, but was it at the expense of continuing to draw this process out and try to get an extra $1 [million] or $2 [million] or get above [Green Bay Packers star Micah Parsons] or whatever it was. To me, it was important that we got it done and I was here. That was kind of the priority."
Hutchinson is originally from Plymouth, Michigan, and he played for the Michigan Wolverines before the Lions selected him second overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. He suffered gruesome fractures of his tibia and fibula in October 2024, but the Lions nevertheless chose to pick up his fifth-year option for 2026 this spring.
As Hutchinson mentioned, Parsons set the market for players at his position when he signed a four-year, $188M contract that included $136M guaranteed as part of the trade that sent him from the Dallas Cowboys to the Packers in August. Hutchinson's mom said her son isn't losing sleep over the differences between his contract and Parsons' deal.
Why Aidan Hutchinson is "good" with extension
"He always was just a kid that still had his communion money tucked into his top drawer. He just didn't need anything," Melissa Hutchinson told ESPN while speaking about Aidan. "He's just a guy that would be hard to buy for him for Christmas unless it was very specific and it was very thought over from him. It was never like, 'Get me as much as I can get because I can ask for as much as I want.' No, it was never like that. It was like, 'No, I'm good,' and that's him."
Aidan Hutchinson and the rest of the Lions are preparing this week for the club's Thanksgiving Day home game against the 7-3-1 Packers. As of Tuesday morning, ESPN BET had 7-4 Detroit as a 2.5-point favorite.
Broncos’ Nik Bonitto shares heartwarming Vance Joseph story after new deal
Denver Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto has a new contract and a story that shows how belief can change everything. Bonitto signed a four-year, $120 million extension this week after a breakout year, but he hasn’t forgotten the role defensive coordinator Vance Joseph played in his journey.
When Joseph arrived in Denver, Bonitto was coming off a rookie season that produced just one sack. Confidence wasn’t high, and he admitted he had doubts about his future in the league. That’s when Joseph pulled him into his office and shared a vision that Bonitto struggled to believe at first. Andrew Mason posted the heartwarming moment on X.
“(Joseph) told me, ‘Nik, you can be a double-digit sack guy in this league,’” Bonitto recalled. “I was like, are you sure you brought the right guy in here? Like, I just had a one-sack season.”
Sometimes, it just takes having someone who believes in you. For Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto, that someone was defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
"When he first came here, I was coming off my rookie year and I had like a half a sack, a sack or something like that. And he… pic.twitter.com/KjqOmrWvKD
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 4, 2025
That moment stuck with Bonitto. Instead of focusing on what he hadn’t done, Joseph focused on what he could become. That faith set the foundation for Bonitto’s leap forward as a pass rusher in 2023. He turned into one of Denver’s most reliable defensive playmakers, finishing with a career-best season that made his new deal possible. And that’s exactly why he didn’t think twice before signing his extension.
For Bonitto, the story is less about stats and more about having someone who believed in him before the production arrived.
“He had ultimate confidence in me, and it’s paid off,” Bonitto said.
Bonito is now betting that even bigger things are ahead, with his prediction for this year. Joseph echoed that belief when discussing the extension, emphasizing that Bonitto is only scratching the surface of his potential. The Broncos defense already leans heavily on his speed and pressure off the edge, and now he’s locked in as a central piece of the future.
This isn’t just about numbers on a stat sheet. Bonitto’s path highlights how confidence, patience, and consistent work come together. He admitted in his press conference that he simply had to wait his turn and keep improving. That mentality worked, and now Denver sees him as one of its cornerstones on defense.
Bonitto’s story has the kind of human touch fans love. He went from doubting himself to being a star who just secured generational money. And it all traces back to one conversation with a coach who saw what was possible. Sometimes, belief makes the difference.
