The new contract for Jared Goff was the final of the three significant contract extensions the Detroit Lions completed this offseason because it was inevitably a little more intricate. The team was undoubtedly eager to close a deal as soon as possible given the increasing demand for quarterbacks, while Goff’s camp might have been content to hold out for a better offer.

With his new contract, Goff is currently (and for the time being) the second-highest paid quarterback in the NFL ($53 million annually). During his news conference on Thursday, he expressed his preference for security—which included disclosing a no-trade clause—over optimizing his financial gains. To maximize cash, a record $73 million signing bonus undoubtedly stands, but that’s a different discussion.

It always seemed like a given that Goff and the Lions would work out a contract extension before the season began, if not before. Although general manager Brad Holmes made it clear that was not how he was going to conduct business, the team could have theoretically allowed him to play out the remaining year of his now-old contract, franchise tagged him for 2025, and gone from there.

Had the Lions waited to sign Goff to a long-term contract? Had they waited? It’s a worthwhile perspective to think about.

Were the Lions rushing to finalize Jared Goff’s contract?

There is a strong argument that the Lions would be better off taking a chance by signing Goff to a long-term contract. On the other hand, Pat Caputo of 97.1 The Ticket has adopted a different stance, arguing that even if the Lions were wise to invest in Goff’s dependability, there remains some danger.

“It is foolish to conflate the risk with that portion of Goff’s expansion. It’s a big deal, and the Lions might come to regret not doing it sooner rather than later this season.”

Though holdouts during training camp are less common now that the rules have been changed, waiting until after the season to extend Goff would have encouraged them. However, he might not have shown up for the upcoming OTA phase, which begins next week. This would have made it more difficult for the Lions to engage in productive voluntary offseason training.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has raised a few minor concerns about the Goff deal’s timing. He most recently offered a perspective that went beyond his own ideas.

And this is the genuine query that a few people in league circles have been posing. When the Lions offered Goff such a big deal, who were they negotiating against?
“Goff is the epitome of a team bidding against themselves,” according to a league insider.

“The Lions had the option to let it go. In 2025, they would have tagged Goff. The Lions are paying more than $47 million annually on a five-year contract, with a feasible guarantee of more than $148 million upon signing. They could have allowed him to go out to market and see if anyone would have offered him anything close to that amount.”

There is merit to the argument that the Lions could have, and should have, waited to complete the transaction involving Goff. However, it was never going to occur. They would not enter the 2024 season without making a commitment to him for the duration. Whether it’s correct or wrong, they place a high value on him, and the market indicated they would need to give him a sizable salary. If some other quarterback contracts were finalized, waiting much longer would have merely increased the cost.