Budda Baker Contract Extension

Budda Baker, the heartbeat of the Arizona Cardinals’ defense, continues to solidify his place as one of the league's premier safeties. A seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro, Baker’s leadership and versatility have made him indispensable to the Cardinals since his arrival in 2017. This past season, Baker recorded 164 total tackles (95 solo), 2.0 sacks, five passes defensed, and one forced fumble.

Terms of the Deal

Baker signed a three-year, $54M extension that will keep him under contract through the 2027 season. 2024 was the last year under his old contract, so this extension will kick in for the 2025 season. Baker’s new AAV (average annual value) is $18 million, which ranks 4th among safeties.

Guarantees/Incentives

This extension includes a $12.245 million signing bonus, $17.441 million guaranteed at signing, and $29.366 million guaranteed. The $17.441 million guaranteed at signing includes his $12.245 million signing bonus, 2024 P5 salary ($2.37 million) and $2.83 million of his 2025 P5 (base) salary.

The $2.37 million guarantee of his 2024 P5 was essentially a formality since there’s about a zero percent chance Baker would have been released before the end of the 2024 season. That covers the remaining weeks of play for this season.

$4.17 million of his 2025 P5 fully guarantees on March 16, 2025 (injury guaranteed at signing)

$7.755 million of his 2026 P5 fully guarantees on March 16, 2025 (injury guaranteed at signing)

Starting in 2026:

- Per-game active roster bonus of $15,000 ($255,000)

- Offseason workout bonus of $500,000 ($1.5 million)

2026 roster bonus: $1 million (Fifth league day of 2026)

2027 roster bonus: $1 million (Fifth league day of 2027)

Cap Breakdown

The only change to Baker's 2024 cap hit comes from the new contract signing bonus proration. The $12.245 million signing bonus is prorated over the remaining years Baker is under contract (four). His cap hit takes a huge dip in 2025 to about $10.8 million, which is less than teammate Jalen Thompson’s cap hit of $13.74 million. The cap hits jump back up to the $19 million—$20 million range in the last two years of the contract due to the increase in P5 salary. If the Cardinals were to release Baker after the 2026 season, the dead cap hit would only be $3.06 million.

Cap Hit by Year (Safety Rank)

- 2024: $22.08 million (1st)
- 2025: $10.81 million (11th)
- 2026: $19.23 million (8th)
- 2027: $20.89 million (4th)

Cash Breakdown

About 32 percent of Baker’s contract ($17.44 million) was fully guaranteed at signing. It’s important to note that Baker has no guarantees in the 2027 season. His $16.075 million 2027 P5 is about 30 percent of the new money tied into this extension.

Cash Flow by Year (Safety Rank)

- 2024: $26.84 million (1st)
- 2025: $7.75 million (13th)
- 2026: $16.17 million (5th)
- 2027: $17.83 million (2nd)

Contract Table

Market Comparison

Derwin James—Chargers

James signed a four-year, $76.53 million extension with the Chargers during the 2022 offseason. Arguably the best safety in the league, Derwin James is the cornerstone of the Chargers’ defense. In 2024 (regular season), James recorded 93 total tackles (60 solo), 5.5 sacks, seven passes defensed and one interception. At the time of signing, this contract made him the highest-paid safety in the league with an AAV of $19.13 million (now ranks second). $38.58 million was guaranteed at signing, totaling 50 percent of the contract value, higher than Baker’s 32 percent. Heading into the last two years of his contract, Baker will eat up about 8.5 percent of the Chargers’ total cap space. Both Baker and James have roster bonuses built into their extensions. The major difference between the two is that Derwin James had a $12 million option bonus in 2023, which was prorated over the remaining four years of his contract.

Minkah Fitzpatrick—Steelers

Fitzpatrick signed a four-year, $73.61 million extension with the Steelers during the 2022 offseason. In 2024 (regular season), Fitzpatrick recorded 96 total tackles (62 solo), one forced fumble, five passes defensed and one interception. At the time of signing, this extension made Fitzpatrick the highest-paid safety in the league with an AAV of $18.4 million (now ranks 3rd). He didn’t hold that spot for very long, as it was only two months later that Derwin James signed his new contract. In Minkah’s contract, $36 million was guaranteed at signing, totaling 48 percent of the contract value. This is a very straightforward contract, as there aren’t any incentives, workout bonuses, roster bonuses, etc., built into the deal. In 2023, Pittsburgh converted $13.42 million of his 2023 P5 into a signing bonus, adding $3.35 million to his cap hit for the last four years of his contract. 2023 was the last year when Fitzpatrick had guarantees built into this deal.

Xavier McKinney—Packers

McKinney signed a four-year, $67 million extension with the Packers during the 2024 offseason. In 2024 (regular season), McKinney recorded 88 total tackles (60 solo), 1.0 sacks, one pass defensed and eight interceptions. McKinney’s contract has an AAV of $16.75 million, which makes him the 5th-highest-paid safety in the league, just behind Baker. In this extension, $23 million was guaranteed at signing (all signing bonus), totaling 34 percent of the contract value. The signing bonus was the only portion of the contract that was guaranteed. However, McKinney has sizable roster bonuses that are due on the third league day for the next two seasons. If he earns both, McKinney will earn a massive $17 million payout in the form of roster bonuses. There’s another $1.5 million roster bonus for 2027, a $250,000 LTBE (likely to be earned) Pro Bowl incentive for 2025, and a per-game active bonus for every year of the contract ($200,000 per season).

Jessie Bates III—Falcons

Bates signed a four-year, $64.02 million deal with the Falcons during the 2023 offseason. This past season, Bates recorded 102 total tackles (62 solo), 1.0 sacks, four forced fumbles, four interceptions and ten passes defensed. His deal included an $18 million signing bonus and $36 million guaranteed at signing, totaling 56 percent of the contract value. Bates' contract has an AAV of $16 million, making him the 6th-highest-paid safety in the league. Going into the last two years of the deal, 2024 was the last year in which Bates had guarantees. He’s due a $1 million roster bonus if he’s still on the team on the fifth league day of 2026.

Final Thoughts

This is likely the last big extension that Baker will receive, as he’ll be 32 years old when this contract expires. However, this is a nice deal for Baker. He got about 32 percent of his contract fully guaranteed at signing, which is a good number, and he will likely earn his roster/workout bonuses this upcoming season, which would give him an extra $755,000. The only real downside to this contract for Baker is that there are no guarantees in the final two seasons of the deal. If Baker were designated as a post-June 1 release after the 2025 season, the Cardinals would save around $16 million in cap space.