Dolphins, LB Jerome Baker agree to 3-year, $39M extension

The Miami Dolphins have struck their next big contract extension from their 2018 NFL draft class. The first big deal signed this offseason from that group of draft selections went to Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders — but the money given to Sanders doesn’t quite measure up to the newest Dolphins extension.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Miami Dolphins and fourth-year linebacker Jerome Baker have agreed to terms on a 3-year, $39M extension to keep Baker locked in with the team for the foreseeable future.

The deal comes on the heels of Baker’s press availability earlier this weekend, in which Baker stated that he would love to play his entire career in Miami with the Dolphins. He’s now officially one step closer to seeing that become a reality — as he’s got four more seasons under contract with the team after this extension.

Baker was originally slated to play this upcoming season for just under $2.5M, the final year of his four-year rookie contract as a 3rd-round draft choice out of Ohio State. But with the three new seasons added on, Baker’s current financials for Miami are technically four years of control for a total of up to $41.4M in compensation.

Baker enjoyed a leap in third-down production this past season with better talent around him on the roster and, with Miami’s continued investments in the defense, we may not have seen the best version of Baker that there is just yet. It seems as though the Dolphins themselves are banking on that being reality, too. Among stack linebackers in the NFL, the $13M annual average salary on Baker’s new extension ranks 7th-highest in the NFL.

Now it’s up to Baker to prove the Dolphins right.