The Detroit Lions have looked in vain decade after decade for a playoff-winning quarterback.
When the search ended with Jared Goff under center, the franchise was determined not to let him get away.
The Lions and Goff have agreed to a four-year, $212 million contract extension, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because the terms were not announced, told The Associated Press on Monday that the deal includes $170 million in guarantees.
Goff, a former University of California standout who played high school football at Marin Catholic in Kentfield, ended the Motor City’s misery in January, helping the Lions earn two playoff victories in one postseason for the first time since winning the 1957 NFL title.
He led the franchise to its first postseason win in 32 years, beating the Matthew Stafford-led Los Angeles Rams in an NFC wild-card game, and to a victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before losing at San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game.
Lions General Manager Brad Holmes acquired Goff and two first-round picks from the Rams for Stafford three years ago.
The 29-year-old Goff, who was entering the final year of his deal, will be under contract in Detroit through the 2028 season.
He has given the Lions a lot of reasons to keep him around.
Goff didn’t get down emotionally, even when the Lions won just three games in his debut year with them in 2021 and followed up the next season with a 1–6 start.
“He’s the captain of the ship,” Detroit center Frank Ragnow said. “He’s as steady as it gets.”
Goff, who is from Novato, Calif., was the No. 1 overall selection by the Rams in the 2016 NFL draft. He helped the Rams reach the Super Bowl in his third season, and they traded him away two years later and went on to win an NFL championship with Stafford.
Outside of the Lions’ organization, Goff was viewed as a stopgap quarterback when he was acquired as a seeming castaway. The three-time Pro Bowl player has been much more than that.
He was effective during the 2022 season, lifting Detroit to eight wins over its final 10 games. He also played well during much of the Lions’ breakthrough season in which they won their first division title in three decades and ended an NFL-record, nine-game postseason losing streak that had dragged on since the 1991 season.
Goff threw 383 consecutive passes without an interception, a mistake-free run that trailed just two players in NFL history, before throwing a pick last September. He finished the 2023 regular season ranked No. 2 in yards passing and fourth with 30 touchdowns, including five that matched franchise and personal records in a rout of the Denver Broncos.
In postseason wins over the Rams and Tampa Bay, he completed 74.3 percent of his passes for 564 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Goff threw for 273 yards and a touchdown at San Francisco, falling one win short of lifting the Lions to the first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
“He’s as accurate as any quarterback I’ve seen,” 49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan said.
The agreement with Goff is the latest investment Detroit has made in keeping key players in hopes of contending for championships in 2024 and beyond.
Less than a month ago, the Lions signed their All-Pro players to deals that keep them under contract for the next five seasons.
Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown signed a four-year contract extension worth more than $120 million, with $77 million in guarantees, and offensive tackle Penei Sewell was retained with a four-year, $112 million deal.
