Jack Campbell
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Jack Campbell attempts a tackle in a Detroit Lions game.
The Detroit Lions found a gem in linebacker Jack Campbell, who earned All-Pro honors in his third season, and could soon face a big decision on his future.
As Campbell nears the end of his rookie contract, the Lions are facing a warning about his pending raise. But as the team nears a big payday for the budding star, they also face complicated decisions about the other costs they’ll have to pay.
Jack Campbell Earning a Raise
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon identified the most underpaid player on every NFL team, picking Campbell for the Lions. As Gagnon noted, Campbell is making a small sum for the impact he brings to the team.
“The 2023 first-round pick became a first-team All-Pro with 176 tackles in his third season,” Gagnon wrote. “He’ll count just $4.7 million against the cap in 2026, which ranks 43rd among off-ball linebackers.”
The Lions have until May 1 to decide whether to exercise the fifth-year option on Campbell’s contract. Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports predicted that the Lions would eventually sign the linebacker to a nine-figure contract.
Payton suggested the Lions should deny the fifth-year option and get right to the contract extension.
“Make no mistake, the Lions should not want to do that,” Payton wrote. “The big reason is that Campbell made the Pro Bowl this year, and he bumped that fifth-year option from $16 million to $23 million. Declining the fifth-year option allows the Lions to get him set up with a big contract, and they can make it up to him there.”
Payton suggested it would take a massive commitment from the Lions, but it’s one that makes sense for a player who grew into a cornerstone of the defense.
“The thing is, it’s going to be a big one,” Payton wrote of the pending contract. “Campbell is likely to be the highest-paid linebacker in NFL history. At least until he gets passed up by someone else, which usually happens pretty fast in this league. Let’s take a look at what that deal could look like.”
The Lions saw their defense struggle at times in 2025, when they fell short of the playoffs and saw their two-year streak of NFC North titles come to an end. Locking down Campbell would be an investment in the future and a step toward returning to the playoffs.
Lions Have Other Players to Sign
The Lions have some other contract decisions to face, with tight end Sam LaPort and Brian Branch both eligible for raises. Lions general manager Brad Holmes said the team wants to keep both for the long-term, but has to be careful about how to allocate the limited resources.
“Those are all players that we feel are core players that we want to keep around,” Holmes said, via MLive.com. “They’re part of our foundation. But again, it just goes back to the — retaining, OK, that’s paying, and then it’s, ‘Well, how much additional resources do you have going forward?’
“And look, there’s a lot of different timelines and levers that we’ll have at our disposal, but those are all players that you rattled off that we see as key pieces that we want to keep around for a long time.”