Feb 4, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun during a press conference at Hilton New Orleans Riverside.

nfl

NFL’s Highest Paid Linebackers – Where Does Zack Baun’s Contract Extension Put Him In The List?

Zack Baun makes it count! Earns a massive $17 million per year deal

Feb 4, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun during a press conference at Hilton New Orleans Riverside.

Philadelphia Eagles’ linebacker Zack Baun was the talk of the town for much of the last season and even more so in Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs. Baun had a tremendous breakthrough season in 2024, being one of the highlights on the Eagles’ second line of defense.

Prior to signing with the Eagles in 2024 on a one-year deal, the linebacker played the first four seasons of his career with the New Orleans Saints who drafted him in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft. Baun played the edge rusher position in New Orleans but was nowhere near as impactful. The Eagles transitioned him from the edge to an off-ball linebacker and watched as the magic unfolded before their very own eyes.

The Bald Eagle is BACK ‼️

We’ve agreed to terms to sign Zack Baun to a three-year deal through 2027.@Toyota | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/kFSx8egbCr
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 5, 2025

Also Read: The New York Jets give permission to WR Allen Lazard to seek a trade!

Zack Baun’s Contract

Baun, who played and started in all 17 games last season, finished with 94 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and an interception to put together his best season yet. He won Pro Bowl, and First-Team All-Pro honors on his way to becoming a Super Bowl Champion.

That performance over the course of the year has now earned the 28-year-old a new 3-year deal worth a staggering $51 million. While all the details of the contract are yet to be divulged, Baun will receive $34 million guaranteed at the time of signing and an additional $1.5 million in incentives and escalators as per NFL insider Adam Schefter.

Breaking: Eagles are re-signing All-Pro LB Zack Baun to a three-year, $51 million contract, including $34 million guaranteed at signing and additional $1.5 million in incentives and escalators, per sources. The contract instantly makes Baun one of the highest-paid LBs in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/n7zkzIgwcD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 5, 2025

Who Is The Highest Paid Linebacker In The NFL?

Zack Baun’s 3-year, $51 million deal has put him in the big leagues as far as linebackers are concerned. Baun sees a massive rise from his one-year prove-it deal last season, which was worth just $3.5 million. The Wisconsin native’s latest contract currently has him as the fourth highest paid linebacker with an average salary of $17 million per year.

The highest earning linebacker in the league at present is the Ravens’ Roquan Smith who is pocketing a handsome $20 million per year with a contract worth $100 million over 5 years. Following Smith, at number two is the dynamic Fred Warner of the 49ers who is also earning a mega $19 million per year with a contract worth approximately $95 million over 5 years. The third highest linebacker is the Chicago Bears’ Tremaine Edmunds with an average earning of $18 million per year, having a contract of 4 years worth $72 million.

Read More: Sam Hubbard calls it quits at just 29 years!

It is truly a wonder what can happen over a period of one year in this cash-rich league as we just witnessed. What we can see from this is that the Eagles are going all out to keep this core group of players intact for a few more seasons for a chance at more Lombardi’s, having also signed running back Saquon Barkley to a 2-year, $41.2 million contract.

NFL

Philadelphia Eagles

Zack Baun

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!