The Seattle Seahawks have agreed a contract extension worth up to $46.5million with linebacker Derick Hall.
The edge played a pivotal role as the Seahawks won Super Bowl LX, racking up two sacks and a forced fumble in their win over the New England Patriots.
Now, according to ESPN, the 25-year-old has been rewarded with an extension that includes $21m guaranteed and could be worth up to $46.5m. Hall’s contract will now run to 2029.
The deal comes just 24 hours after the Los Angeles Rams traded for Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett in the biggest deal so far of the offseason.
It caps a remarkable journey for Hall, who weighed just 1.5lbs and was given just a one per cent chance of survival when his mother gave birth to him four months early.
His mom, Stacy Gooden-Crandle, revealed she was just 28 weeks pregnant with her second child when her waters broke and she was rushed into hospital in Gulfport, Mississippi.
The Seahawks have agreed a contract extension worth up to $46.5million with Derick Hall
Stacy Gooden-Crandle gave birth to the Seattle Seahawks star after just 28 weeks
‘He was not staying in that room,’ she said. ‘He wanted to come out. But the doctors were definitely preparing me for the “what ifs”.
Doctors believed Hall, who is now 6ft 3ins and weighs 265lbs, would likely be in a permanent vegetative state and advised his mom to allow life support to be discontinued. Now he has earned a new deal with the Super Bowl champions.
Garrett’s blockbuster trade, meanwhile, sent shockwaves across the NFL, given he is widely considered the most dangerous defensive player in the NFL.
The Browns had been adamant that they would not lose the defensive end but they agreed to send him to LA in exchange for Jared Verse and a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick.
The historic trade almost certainly makes them the favorites to win the Super Bowl in the coming season, with head coach Sean McVay desperate for glory while 38-year-old quarterback Matthew Stafford, last season’s NFL MVP, is still performing at such an elite level.
Garrett has recorded an astonishing 51 sacks over the last three seasons alone, the most of any player in the NFL.
Last year, he became the first player to have 12 sacks in six straight seasons and his injury record is near-flawless, too. He has been ruled out hurt in just one game over the last six campaigns.
The Rams had already traded for Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs, an elite cornerback, as well as signing Jaylen Watson on a three-year deal but now Garrett also arrives to form a defense that will send fear across the NFL.
