Among the multiple moves the Houston Texans made throughout this offseason, one of their biggest decisions was that of signing star edge rusher Danielle Hunter to a new and lucrative one-year extension worth $35.6 million to land among the highest-paid players at his position.
Overall, a super strong outcome for Hunter, one of the league's more dominant and consistent front-seven talents in the NFL across nearly the past decade, and someone who should be primed to have yet another major role on this Texans defense for the 2025 campaign ahead.
However, when breaking down the Texans' defender's contract, it may actually be one of the most player-friendly deals within the entire NFL.
ESPN's Dan Graziano recently broke down the most team and player-friendly contracts around the league heading into next season, where he placed the Texans' star defender in Hunter, at the top of the list for the most player-friendly edge rusher contract.
"[T]he Texans got to this offseason and were looking at having Hunter under contract for one year and $19.5 million. Nice deal for them if they did nothing. But Hunter was coming off a 12-sack season and deserved a raise," Graziano wrote. "With only one year left on the deal, the Texans didn't want to risk letting him play out the deal and leave as a free agent next year, so they did an extension. The new deal increases his 2025 pay from $19.5 million to $32 million (of which $31.5 million is guaranteed) and adds a 2026 season that includes $22.6 million fully guaranteed."
"All told, Hunter will end up making $61.5 million in his first two years in Houston and a fully guaranteed $84.1 million over his first three. And because he was extended for only one year, another strong season by him would put Houston in the same boat next offseason of having to extend him again or let him play out the final year of his contract."
Being the second-highest paid edge rusher in the league at $35 million annually is a high number is nothing short of a massive price tag for the Texans to accomodate, but after a strong 2024 debut, Houston felt confident in paying out their five-time Pro Bowler the raise he deserved.
The monetary figure will be one to keep an eye on across the next two years, as Hunter will be suiting up for his tenth and 11th seasons in the NFL, but if able to maintain a similar level of play to what we saw throughout last season, this Texans pass rush will be in great hands pairing him next to rising star Will Anderson Jr. on the other side of the line.
