Detroit Lions will remain big spenders in 2018

No NFL franchise spent more on player contracts last season than the Detroit Lions. Is more of the same in store for 2018?

The Detroit Lions can be accused of many things, but being stingy on player contracts isn’t one of them.

After all, it was recently revealed that the Lions spent more money on player salaries than any other franchise last season.

Check out the numbers:

Here’s the 2017 Cash Spending per @NFL team. pic.twitter.com/yWdCR18sbS
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) February 26, 2018

The Lions spent an insane $204,466,793 on player contracts in 2017, which was 122.44 percent of the league’s salary cap. The ins and outs of how this is possible are complex, but essentially, teams are given the opportunity to carry unused cap space over from year to year, and as such, many franchises are able to spend more than the allotted cap. The Lions clearly made use of this provision.

Per Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press:

"The Lions’ cash outlay was bolstered by two big free-agent signings — offensive lineman Rick Wagner and T.J. Lang got a combined $22.5 million in signing bonuses — and by giving the richest contract in NFL history to quarterback Matthew Stafford."

It’s really not all that surprising. Indeed, the Lions did award both Ricky Wagner and T.J. Lang over $9 million per season and Matthew Stafford‘s contract extension was record-breaking (at the time). It was bound to happen, but the Lions still managed to get by.

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In fact, somehow the Lions were still able to carry $4.2 million in unused money into next season, and are expected to have approximately $49 million in cap space in 2018 (Per Spotrac). And they’re going to need it.

For starters, Ezekiel Ansah is set to become an unrestricted free agent. In spite of an inconsistent 2017 season, Ansah finished strong, with six sacks in his last two games. The Lions could look to sign him to a long-term deal the offseason, but even if the an agreement can’t be reached, the franchise will likely assign him the franchise tag, which will cost approximately $17 million.

Haloti Ngata is also set to hit the open market and a return to Detroit would likely be a smart move for both sides. The Lions’ run defense struggled mightily after the veteran went down with a season-ending biceps injury in Week Five.

Linebackers Tahir Whitehead and Paul Worrilow, cornerbacks Nevin Lawson and D.J. Hayden, and center Travis Swanson are other notable Lions’ unrestricted free agents. While some of these men will be moving on, the team would certainly like to retain some of them.

There’s also the matter of Golden Tate‘s contract situation. Tate has one year remaining on his contract, but made it clear last off-season that he feels deserving of a new deal. Considering how much the wide receiver pay scale has escalated over the last few seasons, he likely has a point.

After four consecutive 90-plus catch seasons, Tate has clearly out-performed his $6.2 million annual average salary. If the team wants to retain him beyond 2018, it might be wise to work something out with the elusive wideout before he hits the market in a year’s time.

None of this is even considering the money the Lions will have to spend to sign their own draft picks, undrafted rookies, and of course, any potential big-time free agents. It seems like a virtual certainty that they will be among the league’s biggest spenders once again.

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The Lions have proven to be unafraid of investing significant capital in building a successful organization. While it has taken considerable time and resources, the franchise is more competitive today than it’s been in decades, having produced winning seasons in three of the last four years.

While the team doesn’t have the look of a Super Bowl contender quite yet, things appear headed in the right direction, and management appears committed to that goal, even if it necessitates such a heavy payroll.