By Rory Parks | at July 19, 2026 12:20 pm
Dolphins linebacker**Jordyn Brooks** is due a $7.82MM salary in 2026, the final year of his current contract. The most recent reporting on the matter suggests Brooks will join teammatesDe’Von Achane and**Aaron Brewer** as players to receive extensions from Miami’s new regime.
Brooks, 28, could not have picked a better time to come to the negotiating table. The former first-round pick of the Seahawks led the league with a whopping 183 tackles in 2025, adding 3.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss to his totals. Pro Football Focus graded him as the 11th-best linebacker out of 88 qualified players, and his excellent run defense score of 92.0 was a top-three mark.
All of that culminated in a first-team All-Pro nod, the first time in his career he earned Pro Bowl or All-Pro acclaim. As such, he is well-positioned for a hefty raise and could conceivably push to join the group of off-ball ‘backers who are earning at least $20MM per season.
Our Connor Byrne suggested at the end of June that Brooks has a strong case to vault into at least the second-tier of linebackers earning at least $15MM per season, and Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald believes Brooks will indeed settle for something less than a top-of-the-market accord. In Kelly’s view – which mirrors the one recently offered by colleague C. Isaiah Smalls II – Brooks’ camp is likely pushing for a deal akin to the three-year, $54MM pact that Texans LB**Azeez Al-Shaair** signed in May.
Al-Shaair’s contract does include $38.75MM guaranteed at signing, with another $7MM becoming fully-guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2028 league year. If Brooks does not hit a $20MM+ AAV, he could at least land a favorable guarantee structure.
Citing Brooks’ leadership as well as his on-field performance, Kelly believes the Dolphins should prioritize an extension. Brooks himself expressed some uncertainty as to whether he would get a new deal this offseason, but Kelly does not think the Texas Tech alum will stage a hold-in or similar negotiating tactic to force the issue.
“I need to get better as a player so that’s why I show up,” Brooks said of his OTA attendance this spring.“Obviously, I never want to send the wrong message to the team or to my teammates. I play with these guys. Go to battle with them. I want them to know that I’m here no matter what [and that I’m] playing the game for the right reasons.”
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