Eagles Landed Steal of Free Agency After Absurd NFL Contract News
Zack Baun’s three-year contract extension looks better after the Minnesota Vikings gave Andrew Van Ginkel a fully guaranteed one-year extension.
This time last year, the Philadelphia Eagles had signed veteran linebacker Zack Baun to a one-year, $1.6 million deal. No one knew what to expect from Baun, who was mostly a core special-teams player with the New Orleans Saints, starting in 14 out of 62 games over four years.
However, the Eagles and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio believed that Baun could impact this defense, and they were right. In his first year as a full-time starter, Baun quickly became one of the best linebackers in the league.
The veteran linebacker had 151 combined tackles, 11 tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, five forced fumbles, four pass deflections, 3.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery. Without Baun shining in the middle of the Eagles’ defense, Philadelphia likely doesn’t make the Super Bowl. It was a hell of a gamble by the Eagles, and it paid off.
After helping the Eagles knock off the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59, Philadelphia’s brass kept Baun around for the foreseeable future. The Eagles inked the first-team All-Pro defender to a three-year, $51 million deal, which includes $34 million guaranteed.
While most fans look at the total value of Baun’s deal, the guaranteed money and AAV (average annual value) are more important.
