The Vikings signed Smith, who would have been an unrestricted free agent after the 2016 season, to a $51.25 million contract extension that will keep the versatile playmaker under team control through the 2021 season. The five-year extension includes $28.578 million guaranteed, according to a league source.
At $10.25 million per season, the new contract makes Smith the NFL’s highest-paid safety, according to OverTheCap.com. His deal topped Earl Thomas of the Seattle Seahawks, who signed a four-year, $40 million extension two years ago.
Smith sat down with General Manager Rick Spielman before 8 a.m. to sign the contract, then immediately celebrated by walking downstairs to attend a team meeting.
“It’s very hard to put into words right now,” Smith told the team’s website. “Coming into the league, getting an opportunity after getting drafted by Rick and being able to stay around here and just be a part of what we’re building here, what Coach [Mike] Zimmer is building … It’s huge in every type of way I can think of, being able to stay in this building and chase a championship.”
Smith, who will have a news conference Tuesday, was a first-round draft pick of the Vikings in 2012. Now in his fifth season with the organization, the 27-year-old has thrived the past two years under Zimmer, who uses Smith in a variety of ways to put stress on offenses.
In his first four NFL seasons, Smith racked up 320 tackles, 5½ sacks and a dozen interceptions. Willing to hit hard, he has also forced three fumbles.
Since 2012, Smith is the only NFL defender to record at least 300 tackles, five sacks and 10 interceptions and return at least four interceptions for scores.
Shortly after the 2015 season ended, Spielman expressed a desire to extend Smith’s contract this offseason, playfully joking that Smith was one of the “better,” not best, defensive playmakers in the NFL in the hopes of keeping his price down.
