Arizona S Budda Baker inks $54 million contract extension with Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker is set to stay in the desert a bit longer, as he’s agreed to a contract extension for three more years and $54 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. $30 million is guaranteed.

The $18 million per year average is the biggest for a safety’s third contract in league history, according to Schefter. Baker has been considered a top defensive back in the league and vital piece for the Cardinals defense.

Baker is currently on the last year of the extension he signed after his rookie deal expired. That four-year deal, worth up to $59 million, pays him $14.2 million as a base salary this year.

Baker was selected by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2017 draft with the No. 36 overall pick. He’s twice earned first-team All-Pro honors and been on the NFC Pro Bowl team six times in seven career NFL seasons prior to 2024.

In his career, Baker has played in 119 games, starting 109, and recorded seven interceptions. He set a career-high for a season in 2021 with three. He also has six forced fumbles and five recoveries in his career, as the Cardinals move him around the defense and allow him to make plays around the ball and in the box. To wit, the safety has 9.5 career sacks and 46 tackles for loss.

Baker getting this extension also marks a big turnaround over the last 18 months, as he was requesting a trade early in 2023, a request that was not granted.

“Oh yeah, of course I’ll be there when it’s time to be there,” Baker said to Cameron Cox of 12Sports in 2023 in his first public speaking engagement since the trade request. “When it’s time to be there, I’ll be there smiling and the same regular guy that I am.”

Baker played college football at Washington and was part of the Huskies team that made the College Football Playoff during the 2016 season.