On Tuesday night, Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill signed a four-year extension worth $97 million, placing him firmly among the top five paid players at his position. Even though the Lions had publicly made it known that McNeill was next in line for an extension, the timing of it actually happening—in the middle of Week 7—caught the fourth-year defender off guard.
“I didn’t really know when it was going to be, because I wasn’t that locked in on that to be honest,” McNeill said on Wednesday. “And then my agents called me two days ago and things were getting more serious, and I’m like, ‘Okay, this is getting a little crazy.