HOUSTON – Laremy Tunsil has a detailed vision of building a strong personal legacy, a winning one that goes beyond how he routinely stonewalls the top pass rushers in the game.
There’s a hefty financial element and respect factor contained within Tunsil’s goals.
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Now, Tunsil has achieved his goal again of being the highest paid left tackle in the game as he reset the tackle market again with a three-year, $75 million extension, according to league sources. The deal includes $50 million fully guaranteed, $60 million total guaranteed, a $30 million signing bonus, per sources
Tunsil’s salary cap figure is down to $26.61 million from a previous $35 million for this year with salary cap figures of $25.9 million in 2024, $28.85 million in 2025 and $28.85 million in 2026. His salaries are fully guaranteed for skill, injury and salary cap in 2023 and 2024 with $2 million and $18 million, and $10 million of his $20.95 million base salary guaranteed for injury in 2025 and a nonguaranteed $20.95 million in 2026.
He has a $10 million injury guarantee in 2025, which is fully guaranteed the 5th day of the 2024 league year. He has a total of $250,000 in per game active roster bonuses annually ($14,706 per game active), and $150,000 annual workout bonuses.
His average of $25 million per year makes him the highest paid left tackle in the NFL, a groundbreaking financial milestone for the former Miami Dolphins first-round draft pick from Mississippi.
The deal was negotiated by Tunsil with advice from Saint Omni. He is advised by Omni and Laolu Sanni of Divine Treee.
Originally signed to a three-year, $66 million contract after being acquired in a trade from the Miami Dolphins, Tunsil wanted to top San Francisco 49ers star Trent Williams’ $23.01 million average with a blockbuster contract extension this offseason. Tunsil views himself as a valuable insurance policy who keeps the quarterback safe and standing. With quarterback salaries skyrocketing -- Aaron Rodgers ($50.3 million), Russell Wilson ($49 million), Kyler Murray ($46.1 million) and Deshaun Watson ($230 million fully guaranteed, $46 million average) -- the tackle market is also expected to keep rising.
Although Texans general manager Nick Caserio was noncommittal at the NFL scouting combine on whether a lucrative contract extension is in the offing, he emphasized there was a respectful dialogue.
#Texans general manager Nick Caserio on Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil who has expressed desire to remain in Houston long-term and also reset the elite tackle market @KPRC2 'We've had good conversations' emphasized 'respect' for highest graded pass blocker in NFL last season pic.twitter.com/ZO2FxsavmB
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) February 28, 2023
“Laremy’s been a good player in this league for a long time,” Caserio said. “He’s done a lot of good things for our team. I think each individual player, when the time comes, and it’s appropriate to have any conversations, we’ll go ahead and do that. A lot of respect for Laremy, we’ve had good conversations along the way.
“We’ll see how it goes here in the offseason, but Laremy has expressed his sentiments about wanting to be here in Houston. We’ll see if it works itself out the way everybody would like it to.”
Tunsil wants to help transform theTexans into a winning program and, one day, conclude his career with the AFC South franchise.
“I want to turn this program around,” Tunsil told KPRC 2 at the close of the season. “That’s what I want: to turn this organization around from a losing organization into a winning organization. I want to finish my career here in Houston.”
“That would mean a lot to me to reset the market,” Tunsil said. “Absolutely, you have to have insurance. You have to protect the quarterback. You have to pay left tackles.”
Tunsil, who doesn’t have an agent and helped negotiate his original contract with the Texans with the advice and counsel of advisors Omni and Sanni, was optimistic about what eventually culminated in another blockbuster deal.
“Plant the seed and see where we go from here,” Tunsil said.
Tunsil was the highest graded pass blocker in the NFL with a 90.9 Pro Football Focus analytics grade. The former Miami Dolphins first-round draft pick from Mississippi allowed just one sack all season, and that was in the first game of the season against the Indianapolis Colts.
Named to the Pro Bowl again, Tunsil expressed confidence in his game and where he stacks up around the league.
“Don’t doubt me,” he said. “That was the main thing that motivated me the whole entire season. They see that I’m LT1. They see I’m the best left tackle in the league.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com