At the core of the Detroit Lions' rise over the last couple seasons is excellent work in the draft. Brad Holmes is building things "the right way", around young talent with veteran acquisitions that fit the mold they're looking for to supplement that core.
The benefit of drafting well is also financial. Players on rookie contracts are cheaper, and even as the NFL salary cap perpetually rises there will always be value in having a bunch of good young players.
Of course on the back side of that is having to pay those good young players when the get to their second contract, and maybe having to make some difficult decisions. The Lions are already experiencing that side of things, as they doled out big contracts to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and right tackle Penei Sewell this offseason. There are more to come (Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch).
For this year though, with very few big salary cap hits on the books, these five Lions' players look very underpaid.
5 Detroit Lions who are grossly underpaid in 2024
5. OG Kevin Zeitler
After the departure of Jonah Jackson in free agency, the Lions found a way to upgrade their offensive line by signing Zeitler. Coming off his first career Pro Bowl appearance last year with the Baltimore Ravens, the veteran right guard has 181 starts on his resume. In five of the last six seasons he has been a top-15 graded guard by Pro Football Focus, and he has had a pass blocking of at least 75 in nine of the last 10 seasons (81.8 or higher seven times in that span.
The 34-year old Zeitler also signed a one-year, $5.94 million deal to come to the Detroit. That's a remarkable bargain for someone who has shown no great signs of a looming drop-off in performance, and even if he does show some erosion this year the Lions only committed for that one year.
4. TE Sam LaPorta
LaPorta became the best tight end on the Lions' roster the moment he was drafted last year. All he did as a rookie was set the NFL record for receptions by a rookie tight end, and set every single-season record for a Lions' tight end regardless of experience.
As a second-round pick, LaPorta will be on a similar timeline for a new contract as St. Brown was as a fourth-round pick (heading into the final year of his rookie contract). But that conversation is not coming just yet, as LaPorta refines his game heading into Year 2. There's a chance he becomes the highest-paid tight end in the league when it comes time for his second contract.
But for now, LaPorta is a somewhere around a top-five tight end in the league with a cap hit that's currently 42nd at the position ($2,151,361). That's the simplest definition of underpaid there can be.
3. DT Alim McNeill
McNeill has progressed year-to-year in each of his first three NFL seasons, with a breakthrough last season (five sacks, etc.) that had him as Pro Football Focus' seventh-highest graded defensive tackle (86.8 overall). As he eyes taking another step this year, the booming defensive tackle market from this offseason is music to his financial ears.
There's an angle that suggests McNeill could be the odd-man out as the Lions continue to dole out contract extensions. But Holmes likes to reward those who earn it, and McNeill has certainly done that with the work he has done to improve his game, reshape his body, etc. It's only naturally he would be rewarded in-kind, and the Lions will be the team to do it.
But this year, the last year of his rookie contract he moves toward possibly earning his first career Pro Bowl selection, McNeill looks like a fantastic bargain with a cap hit just shy of $3.4 million.
2. DB Brian Branch
Branch fell to the second round of the 2023 draft for non-football reasons (small size, a slow 40-yard dash at the combine). But anyone who watched his tape at Alabama knew he was in a unique category as a versatile playmaker in the secondary..
The Lions gladly traded up a few spots to get him, and he rewarded them with an excellent rookie season as their primary slot corner (74 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, a team-high 13 pass breakups, PFF's No. 14 cornerback). He may see more time at safety this year, with all the additions that were made at cornerback, but it would be foolish to pull him off the slot corner role too much.
A second-round pick's contract also means Branch carries just a $1.8 million cap hit this year, which lands between Josh Paschal and Brock Wright among cap hits for the Lions. No offense to those two players, but Branch's value and impact is much greater than theirs. He's easily underpaid this year, and he will be for a couple more years to come.
1. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
Yes, St. Brown is about to get a lot more expensive. But his massive four-year contract extension doesn't kick in until 2025, and even with an adjustment due to signing bonus proration, etc. his 2024 cap hit is still shy of $4.9 million. Even next year, his cap hit is currently a reasonable $13.91 million.
St. Brown has been one of the most productive wide receivers in the league over his first three seasons, and even that can be narrowed to from the back half of his rookie season through last season to some degree; to look even more impressive. He has outperformed many of the 16 receivers who were drafted before him, and he has become one of the Lions' core players. Making him one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL, and the highest paid for about 24 hours, was automatic.
But the time for St. Brown's earnings to fully befit what he does on (and off) the field is not here just yet. For 2024, he is incredibly underpaid one last year.
