The Carolina Panthers have rewarded Christian McCaffrey for his production and versatility, making him the highest-paid running back in the NFL.
The team agreed a four-year, US$64 million contract extension with McCaffrey on Monday, a person familiar with the contract negotiations said.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Panthers had not announced the extension. Details on how much of the contract is fully guaranteed were unavailable.
Photo: Bob Donnan-USA Today
The US$16-million-a-year deal eclipses Ezekiel Elliott’s contract with the Dallas Cowboys that is US$15 million per season.
The extension keeps McCaffrey, 23, tied to the Panthers through the 2025 season.
It appeared to be a matter of when, not if, the extension was coming, after Panthers coach Matt Rhule made it clear last week that he viewed McCaffrey as a vital part of the franchise moving forward.
“I think Christian McCaffrey is a centerpiece player that you can build around and I think he really builds to the culture that you want to have within the building,” Rhule said.
McCaffrey ran for 1,387 yards and posted 1,005 yards receiving last season for the Panthers, joining Marshall Faulk and Roger Craig as the only running backs in NFL history to reach 1,000 yards in both categories in the same season.
The former first-round draft pick has been a spectacular selection for the Panthers, amassing 2,920 yards rushing and 2,523 yards receiving along with 39 touchdowns in three seasons.
He is the only player in NFL history with at least 2,500 yards receiving and rushing in his first three seasons.
There has been some discussion about whether the Panthers have overused McCaffrey the past couple of seasons, with him playing more than 90 percent of their snaps — by far the most in the league by a running back — but Rhule expects new offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who helped lead LSU (Louisiana State University) Tigers to a national championship last year, to be an important part of the offense.
“I hired Joe because I know that he’s going to utilize guys to their strengths,” Rhule said last week.
Asked about McCaffrey, Rhule said: “He’s a tailback-slash-wideout, he can do it all, returner, too. So I’m anxious to get him out there and anxious to build this thing around him. I think he’s going to be a special player for us.”
With McCaffrey locked up, the Panthers are expected to turn their attention to defense in the NFL draft next week.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
Shin Oebori coaches the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team in Tokyo, and he is very aware how Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani touches his players. “With Ohtani, the kids think everything is possible,” Oebori said, wrapping up practice yesterday on an all-dirt field set alongside a local Buddhist temple, below an elevated highway, and in the shadow of tall apartment blocks in central Tokyo. “Nothing is impossible with him. A dream is not a dream,” Oebori said, stepping out of the fenced practice field that keeps balls from landing on the temple grounds. None of the players hitting sponge-soft baseball has reached
Italian defender Marco Curto has been banned for 10 matches for racially abusing South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan while playing for Como 1907 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly in July. Curto, who is on loan from Como to Serie B club Cesena, would serve half of the punishment immediately with the other half suspended for two years. “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,” a FIFA spokesperson said. “The player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organization approved by FIFA.” Wolves said the club would
CRICKET Azhar’s 59 leads Stallions Aashir Azhar’s blazing half-century guided the Taipei Stallions to victory over Taipei Super 11 in the Taiwan Premier League’s Group A at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei yesterday. The Stallions were 102-3 and into the 12th over of 20 when Azhar came to the crease. He hit seven sixes and two fours in the 25 deliveries he faced to push his side to 171-5. Gokul Kumar was the star with the ball for Super 11, taking 3-17. In the reply, Deepak Vishnu outscored Azhar with 77 from 50 balls, but nobody else got past 20 as
RSS