The New York Jets signed their franchise cornerstone to a major deal.
The New York Jets are half a year removed from entertaining potential trade talks for running back Breece Hall. This past Friday, Hall signed a three-year extension as the Jets locked up their cornerstone running back on a deal worth $43.5 million. That contract makes Hall the fourth-highest paid back in the league and a central part of the franchise’s rebuild.
The three-year deal is worth up to $47.5 million with incentives, with $29 million in guarantees per agent Nicole Lynn of Klutch Sports. His $14.5 million annual average ranks behind NFL greats Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, and Derrick Henry, surpassing the reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker, who signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on a deal worth up to $14.35 million.
The news comes after Hall’s name was shopped a bit in trade talks back in November, trading Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams in blockbuster deals that made Hall’s movement seem likely. They ultimately decided he was key to their rebuild. Negotiations had previously halted while the Jets focused on preparing for the NFL draft, but they’ve now signed him to a deal that made him cry “for the first time since I tore [my] ACL,” Hall shared on social media.
To read more about the major deal for the franchise cornerstone, here is the full story from Jets Roundtable writer Ashish Mathur.
Hall is coming off an electric year where he rushed for a career-high 1,065 yards and has a career 5,040 scrimmage yards through four seasons, good for 14th in the league. With the team adding skill players with their two first round picks, they are hoping that their star back has the pieces to celebrate and build with.