Center
Top of the market: Tyler Linderbaum, Las Vegas Raiders ($27 million AAV)
Linderbaum’s deal is an enormous outlier. At $27 million per season, the new Raiders center represents a 50% leap on the prior record holder, which was Creed Humphrey’s $18 million AAV on his four-year extension with the Chiefs. No other player is remotely close to what Linderbaum landed, which is a product of both his unique talent and the league’s franchise tag and fifth-year option rules lumping all linemen together. The Ravens weren’t able to justify paying Linderbaum like a tackle, but the competition of the open market led the Raiders to pay Linderbaum like one.
We’ll see how Linderbaum’s deal pans out in the years to come, but the massive raise creates a real conflict for teams with elite young centers. I don’t think anybody sees the true top of the center market around where Linderbaum landed, but young centers should (and will) ask for a Linderbaum-sized contract in the future, knowing that the free agent market proved they can earn that sort of deal if they get there.
Next up: Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs
The best center on a rookie deal at the moment is Graham Barton, who has been excellent for the Bucs since being drafted two years ago. Todd Bowles even moved Barton to left tackle briefly last season while Tristan Wirfs was injured, a testament to the Duke product’s athleticism. The only issue is that Barton was a first-round pick, and as a result, he’s subject to the same concerns about franchise tags and fifth-year options that Linderbaum was with the Ravens. Barton might prefer to play out the five years of his rookie deal and hit free agency as a 27-year-old in 2029.
He might theoretically be joined in that 2029 class by Humphrey and Linderbaum, both of whom will be free agents after the 2028 campaign. I would expect both players to be negotiating extensions in 2028, and between the two, most NFL observers believe Humphrey to be the better center. There are seemingly annual concerns about Humphrey snapping the ball too low on a regular basis, but his quickness and ability to block defensive tackles one-on-one make him an essential part of the Kansas City offense.
Barring a turnaround from Cam Jurgens in Philadelphia, I’d expect Humphrey to be the first center to approach $30 million per season on a new deal, with Linderbaum and Barton close behind.