Chris Harris' new contract Tuesday night made him the Denver Broncos' highest-paid cornerback. After the one-year pact expires following the season, the lock-down slot corner will aim for highest-paid at his entire position.
"I'm ready to roll. I'm ready to get back with the team and start working on the camaraderie with my teammates," Harris told Mike Klis of 9News. "I'm the fourth cornerback this year (in 2019 cash), and after this season, I'll hit free agency and be No. 1.''
The Broncos awarded Harris, whom John Elway plucked as a college free agent back in 2011, a new contract worth $12.05 million, NFL Network's James Palmer reported. It was a bump from the $8.8 million the soon-to-be 30-year-old was set to make in 2019.
Palmer noted that one reason for the new one-year deal was due to sides being gulfs apart when it came to long-term negotiations. Harris' desire to top the corner market likely had something to do with that chasm.
Washington Redskins corner Josh Norman owns the largest guaranteed money for a corner at signing, getting $50 million guaranteed on his $75 million deal in 2016. Miami's Xavien Howard just edged out Norman's $15 million-per-year average with his new deal, coming in at $15.05 million per season on his new five-year extension signed this offseason.
Harris will aim to best those totals when he hits the free-agent market next year. Whether a team is willing to hand $15 million to a 30-year-old at a position in which play generally falls off a cliff remains to be seen.
For now, Harris is now the highest-paid corner on his own team, a distinction he's earned -- no offense to Kareem Jackson, who he had to leapfrog to get there.
"I just wanted to be the highest-paid cornerback on the team," Harris told Klis. "It had nothing to do with Kareem. I just thought I deserved to be the No. 1 corner on the team. Nothing against Kareem."
The Broncos gave Jackson a three-year contract worth $33 million this season ($11 million per), setting the bar for Harris to leap on Tuesday night.
