Chris Houston's contract worth $25 million over five years

Gregory Shamus

Detroit Lions cornerback Chris Houston's new deal is worth $25 million over five years.

Cornerback Chris Houston said on Wednesday that he re-signed with the Detroit Lions in part because "the contract was pretty cool." We knew that he agreed to a five-year deal, but the details beyond that weren't known until Yahoo! Sports' Jason Cole tweeted this:

CB Chris Houston deal is 5 yr/$25 mill, $15.5 mill over the first 3 years.
— Jason Cole (@JasonColeYahoo) March 13, 2013

Houston's last deal with the Lions was worth $6 million over two years, so he is getting a pretty nice raise with this new deal. All things considered, an average of $5 million a year isn't too bad considering the Lions were believed to be offering around $6 million a year before free agency opened. The flooded cornerback market dropped Houston's price down a bit, making him slightly more affordable.

While Houston may not be a true No. 1 cornerback, he is being paid like one by the Lions. That's a clear sign that the Lions believe he will continue to be their top cornerback going forward, and it's also a clear sign that they believe he is an important part of the defense.

UPDATE: Here is the year-by-year breakdown of Houston's contract:

#Lions CB Chris Houston - $1 mil in 2013; $3.5 mil in 2014; 4.5 mil in 2015; 4.5 mil in 2016; 5.0 in 2017; 6.5 signing bonus #NFL
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) March 13, 2013