When you are one of the best players in the NFL free agent market, a nice pay day usually follows. Just ask the newest addition to the San Francisco 49ers how that goes. It's also proof that you don't have to have a household name to have a pretty fat wallet in professional football.
Unless you are a die-hard football fan or pay attention to the LSU Tigers, the name Kwon Alexander probably doesn't mean much to you. However, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound inside linebacker is a complete stud and he just got paid in a big-time way.
According to multiple reports, Alexander is leaving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to sign a four-year, $57 million deal with the 49ers that includes $27 million guaranteed.
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To say this was a massive pickup for the Niners would be an understatement.
Since being a fourth-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft — the No. 124 overall selection — Alexander has done nothing but terrorize NFL offenses with his speed.
The Oxford, Alabama native has 380 tackles, 7.0 sacks, six forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, six interceptions and one defensive touchdowns in just 46 career games. Oh, and he doesn't even turn 25 until August.
If you watched Alexander at LSU, you knew the potential was there. After all, he led the Tigers with 92 tackles as a junior before forgoing his senior season to play in the NFL. But to be the highest-paid inside linebacker in football? That just doesn't seem right.
At a $13.5 million salary, Alexander, a 2017 Pro Bowl selection, now makes over $1 million more per year than Carolina Panthers future Hall of Fame linebacker Luke Kuechly, which is just insane to think about.
Nevertheless, he's proven his game is worth every penny, despite only six games of the 2018 season while recovering from a torn ACL from the year before.
The San Francisco 49ers might not be done making moves just yet, but they just landed one of the top defensive players in NFL free agency in linebacker Kwon Alexander and has a pretty hefty receipt to prove it.
