Ed Oliver contract details: Bills standout joins list of NFL's highest-paid DTs with extension

Kevin Skiver

Ed Oliver contract details: Bills standout joins list of NFL's highest-paid DTs with extension image

Ed Oliver has found a home in Buffalo, and he'll be staying there a little longer.

Oliver, 25, was selected No. 9 overall by the Bills out of the University of Houston in the 2019 NFL Draft. The 2023 season was to be his contract year, but the Bills have eliminated that uncertainty. Buffalo and Oliver have agreed to a four-year extension, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Saturday.

Schefter reported the deal is worth $68 million, with $45 million guaranteed. The $17 million average annual value puts Oliver in the neighborhood of other defensive tackles in the NFL, although behind the likes of the Rams' Aaron Donald, the Titans' Jeffery Simmons and the Commanders' Daron Payne, who signed a four-year, $90 million extension earlier this offseason.

MORE: Jimmy Garoppolo contract details: How failed physical impacted Raiders' deal

Ed Oliver contract details

Oliver reportedly agreed to a four-year, $68 million extension with the Bills. The deal is intended to keep him in Buffalo though the 2027 season.

The contract includes $45 million in guaranteed money, putting him near the 49ers' Arik Armstead and the Giants' Leonard Williams.

Full contract details (dead cap, yearly salary) have not been disclosed. This section will be updated as more information becomes available.

MORE: Bills schedule 2023: Dates & times for all 17 games

Ed Oliver stats

Oliver has posted solid numbers in his four NFL seasons, with 151 career tackles (96 solo) and 14.5 career sacks. He played in just 13 games last season because of an ankle sprain he suffered in the season opener against the Rams.

Year GP FF FR SK TK TFL QB Hits SAF
2019 16 1 0 5.0 43 5 8 0
2020 16 1 0 3.0 33 6 6 0
2021 17 1 0 4.0 41 10 14 0
2022 13 1 1 2.5 34 9 14 1
TOTAL 62 4 1 14.5 151 30 42 1

The production of a defensive tackle can't necessarily be quantified by box score production, but Oliver is clearly someone the Bills wanted to have around moving forward.

NFL's highest-paid defensive tackles

Oliver's deal puts him in the company of Kenny Clark and Cameron Heyward, but he isn't touching the top-earning defensive tackles. Even by average annual value, he's still firmly in the second tier.

The highest-paid 4-3 defensive tackles in the NFL following Oliver's extension, per Over The Cap.

Player Years Total AAV Guaranteed
Aaron Donald 3 $95,000,000 $31,666,667 $65,000,000
Jeffery Simmons 4 $94,000,000 $23,500,000 $59,330,000
Dexter Lawrence 4 $90,000,000 $22,500,000 $59,000,000
Daron Payne 4 $90,000,000 $22,500,000 $60,020,000
Arik Armstead 4 $85,000,000 $21,250,000 $45,850,000
Javon Hargrave 4 $84,000,000 $21,000,000 $40,000,000
DeForest Buckner 4 $84,000,000 $21,000,000 $56,378,000
Chris Jones 4 $80,000,000 $20,000,000 $60,000,000
Jonathan Allen 4 $72,000,000 $18,000,000 $35,642,235
Vita Vea 4 $71,000,000 $17,750,000 $40,596,440
Kenny Clark 4 $70,000,000 $17,500,000 $25,000,000
Ed Oliver 4 $68,000,000 $17,000,000 $45,000,000
Cameron Heyward 4 $65,600,000 $16,400,000 $20,250,000

With all the big contracts being signed this offseason, there remains the question of what they mean for the Jets' Quinnen Williams, who can become a free agent after the 2023 season.

He can use those deals to inform him about what he might get. Oliver's $17 million AAV is on the low end on the above list, with Payne, Simmons and the Giants' Dexter Lawrence all signing for more.

One thing to glean from these contracts is that four years is the preferred length for defensive tackle deals. Expect Williams, who is the same age as Oliver, to command a similar length.

Kevin Skiver

Kevin Skiver Photo

Kevin Skiver has been a content producer at Sporting News since 2021. He previously worked at CBS Sports as a trending topics writer, and now writes various pieces on MLB, the NFL, the NBA, and college sports. He enjoys hiking and eating, not necessarily in that order.