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What might a long-term deal for Ndamukong Suh be worth?

If the Detroit Lions are able to sign defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to a long-term deal, how much will it be worth? Here's a look at one site's prediction.

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Coming into the offseason, one of the Detroit Lions' top priorities was to sign defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to a long-term deal. It's unclear at this point just how far along negotiations are between the Lions and Suh's agents, though. The thinking is that talks have been taking place behind the scenes for months now, but virtually no news about them has leaked out. That could be a sign that the talks are moving smoothly, but I suppose it could also be a sign that no real progress has been made.

In any case, if the Lions are able to eventually get a long-term contract worked out with Suh, what kind of numbers should we expect from his new deal? Spotrac recently put together a prediction for Suh's new deal by looking at the contracts of Geno Atkins, Haloti Ngata, Vince Wilfork and Kyle Williams. Spotrac also compared those defensive tackles' stats to Suh's numbers in order to come up with a guess for his new deal.

Ultimately, Spotrac predicted that Suh will receive a five-year deal worth a total of $52.4 million. That prediction includes $28 million in guaranteed money and an average of $10.5 million per year. By comparison, Suh's rookie contract will end up being worth around $64 million over five years, which is an average of $12.8 million per season (thanks, old CBA!).

In all honesty, I would be surprised if Suh's new deal averages "only" $10.5 million a year. That's obviously still a lot of money, especially for a defensive tackle, but given how much leverage he has, is Suh really going to end up with a lesser deal than he got as a rookie? I just don't see it, but given the circumstances, I think the Lions would gladly take a five-year deal worth $52.4 million.

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