Harrison Smith agrees to new contract with Vikings, per source
— -- MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to a contract extension with safety Harrison Smith on Monday morning, making the 2016 Pro Bowler the highest-paid safety in the league.
Smith will earn $51.25 million over the next five years, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, including a $10 million signing bonus. Smith's deal includes $28.578 million guaranteed against injury, and his contract runs through 2021, a league source told ESPN's Ben Goessling. Smith was already scheduled to play on his fifth-year option this year.
The 2012 first-round pick made his first Pro Bowl in 2016, a year after he tied for third in the NFL with five interceptions. Smith also had three sacks in 2014, and had established himself as one of the fixtures of Mike Zimmer's defense.
The Vikings had been budgeting for Smith's deal for several years; they had expressed interest the last two offseasons in New England's Devin McCourty and Cincinnati's George Iloka in free agency, only to bow out once the price got too expensive for them to put one of those safeties next to Smith. General manager Rick Spielman said earlier this offseason that he expected an extension for Smith would be coming soon, and Smith had said he hoped to get a deal done with the Vikings in the near future.
The 27-year-old, whom the Vikings selected out of Notre Dame with the 29th pick in the 2012 draft, already holds a team record with four interception returns for touchdowns.
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