Former Husky Trent McDuffie just made Washington program history with new $124M deal

The University of Washington’s case for ‘DBU’ just got even stronger. The Huskies have sent plenty of defensive backs to the National Football League in recent years, and on Sunday, one such defender signed a record-setting contract. Former Huskies cornerback Trent McDuffie signed with the Los Angeles Rams on a four-year extension worth $124 million dollars.

The extension, which comes just four days after McDuffie was traded to the Rams by the Kansas City Chiefs, is the most expensive ever for a cornerback or a former Washington Husky. McDuffie is already a two-time All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl champion after four years with the Chiefs, who last April chose to exercise the defender’s fifth-year option for 2026 while they navigated cap space issues.

The Chiefs ultimately decided to trade McDuffie rather than extend him, which saved them the $13.6 million they owed him via the fifth-year option. When McDuffie was traded, the Rams took on that one-year contract and immediately opted to sign him to an extension.

Trent McDuffie is the league’s highest-paid cornerback

McDuffie’s $124 million extension, which will run from 2027 through 2030, includes $100 million guaranteed and gives him an average yearly income (APY) of $31 million. All three figures are the highest ever for a cornerback.

Until Sunday, the NFL’s highest paid cornerback was Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, who signed a four-year, $120,400,000 extension with the Indianapolis Colts after being traded by the New York Jets in November. Gardner led the league’s corners in total earnings and APY ($30.1 million), though Derek Stingley Jr.'s contract led the position in guaranteed money ($89 million).

In terms of total value, McDuffie’s contract extension now makes him the nation’s 29th-highest-paid player. He’s the eighth-highest-paid defender, but still the highest-paid off-ball defender, as all seven players who earn more than him (Kansas City defensive tackle Chris Jones and six edge rushers) all play on the line of scrimmage. 

McDuffie is the highest-paid Washington Husky in NFL history

McDuffie’s contract is just barely pricier than those of Gardner and Stingley, but it’s enough to make him the highest-paid player to go from UW to the NFL by an astonishing margin. 

His total contract figure of $124 million dwarfs the four-year, $71 million extension former Washington defensive tackle Vita Vea got from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January 2022. That total was previously the most ever given to a former Dawg, but McDuffie’s payday puts Vea in second place by more than $50 million.

The $31 million APY McDuffie will earn across those four years is also almost double UW’s previous record. That program-best rate was previously, $18 million APY which former Huskies safety Budda Baker and cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. are both currently earning in their respective contracts. Vea’s APY of $17.75 million makes him only the third Husky to ever earn half as much in a single season as McDuffie is set to in 2027 and beyond.