Report: Xavien Howard, Dolphins Agree to $50M Contract; Becomes NFL's Top Paid CB

According to multiple reports, the Miami Dolphins and veteran defensive back Xavien Howard have agreed to a five-year contract extension.

Matt Verderame @MattVerderame

The Dolphins and Xavien Howard have agreed to a five-year deal with $50M in new money, per source.

Howard now becomes the highest-paid CB in the league by APY, making over $24M annually

Field Yates @FieldYates

The Dolphins and Howard agreed to a restructured contract prior to last season with an understanding that a new deal would be discussed this offseason.

Miami takes care of one of the best players in the league and has a core piece under contract for 5 more years. https://t.co/lZJorlmMXS

Howard had a cap hit of $16.3 million in 2022, $16.3 million in 2023 and $13.5 million in 2024.

The two years and $50.7 million added to his current deal made him the highest-paid player.

Howard's agent suggests that he is the highest-paid corner in the game since over the course of his five-year contract he will be averaging $18.

Mike Garafolo @MikeGarafolo

So it's two years added to the deal for Xavien Howard and $50.7 million in money added so technically an extension at $25.345 million per year. It's a DeAndre Hopkins-esque contract sweetening that will muddle the notion of who the highest-paid CB is. For Howard, a nice bump.

Matt Schneidman @mattschneidman

Remember the new money APY for DeAndre Hopkins after he was traded skewing the WR market and leading to a standoff between the Packers and Davante Adams?

Jaire Alexander's camp will surely use Xavien Howard's new money APY as a reference point instead of his "actual" APY. https://t.co/b4296OLF7N

Field Yates @FieldYates

The Dolphins’ spending spree includes:Tyreek Hill: 4-yr, $120MXavien Howard: 2-yr, $50.7MTerron Armstead: 5-yr, $87.5M maxCedrick Wilson: 3-yr, $22.5MConnor Williams: 2-yr, $14MChase Edmonds: 2-yr, $12.6MTeddy Bridgewater: 1-yr, $6.5MRaheem Mostert: 1-yr, $3.125M

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The highest AAV at the position is $20 million, depending on which agent you subscribe to.

Howard is one of the highest-paid corners in the game, and for good reason. He was a first-team All-Pro in the 2020 season after picking off 10 passes.

Joe Schad @schadjoe

The Dolphins are assembling a nice collection of talented core players. Tyreek Hill. Emmanuel Ogbah. Terron Armstead. Jaylen Waddle. Mike Gesicki. Byron Jones. Jerome Baker. Christian Wilkins. Jevon Holland.

Xavien Howard is the Dolphins' best player.

He had 50 tackles, five picks, 16 passes defended, two forced turnovers, a sack, and a defensive touchdown last year, and he's going to be a big part of the Dolphins' defense this year.

The Miami secondary was the eighth-best in PFF last season, with Howard playing a big part in that.