Jahmyr Gibbs Tops Bijan Robinson for Richest RB Deal Ever: Lions Lock Up Star on $67.5M Extension

Jahmyr Gibbs is now the richest running back in NFL history. The Detroit Lions and their 24-year-old playmaker agreed Thursday to a three-year extension worth $67.5 million, a deal that can climb to $75.75 million with incentives and includes $51.5 million guaranteed, according to Gibbs’ agent Todd France of Athletes First. The average annual value of $22.5 million edges out the deal Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson signed just two days earlier, briefly making Gibbs and Robinson back-to-back record-setters at the position within the same week.

The timing ends a hold-in that had kept Gibbs off the practice field in training camp as negotiations dragged. He was already tied to Detroit through the 2027 season on his rookie deal and fifth-year option, but this extension locks him in through 2030, buying the Lions long-term cost certainty at a position the front office has clearly decided to build around rather than churn through on cheap rookie contracts.

How the Numbers Stack Up Against Robinson’s Deal

Robinson’s extension, finalized Tuesday, was a three-year, $66.75 million pact worth up to $75 million with $51 million guaranteed and $37 million paid as a signing bonus. Gibbs’ camp came back two days later with a structure that tops it on nearly every line: $67.5 million in base value versus $66.75 million, a max of $75.75 million versus $75 million, and $51.5 million guaranteed versus $51 million. The gap is razor-thin, but it’s real, and it puts Gibbs narrowly ahead as the position’s new financial ceiling — at least until the next star running back’s camp starts making calls.

What’s notable is how quickly the market moved. Both deals landed within the same week, both replaced players who were reportedly seeking to reset the running back pay scale after years of teams treating the position as replaceable, and both franchises chose to pay rather than risk a holdout bleeding into the regular season. Gibbs turned 24 in March and is coming off a third straight full season as Detroit’s most explosive offensive weapon — 243 carries for 1,223 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground in 2025, plus 77 catches for 616 yards and five more scores through the air. Across three years, he has piled up 3,580 rushing yards, 1,449 receiving yards and 49 total touchdowns, numbers that put him among the most productive dual-threat backs of his era regardless of position value debates.

What This Means for Lions Futures and Gibbs’ Market Value

Detroit’s win total for 2026 has sat at 10.5 across multiple books since early summer, with the market split close to even at odds like -115/-105 and -130/+110 depending on the sportsbook. The Lions are also priced as favorites or co-favorites to win the NFC North, with lines ranging from roughly +160 to +180 across shops, and they carry Super Bowl odds around +1900. None of those markets are likely to move dramatically off a contract announcement alone — futures react to health, scheme and roster construction, not just spending — but locking up Gibbs removes a variable that bettors evaluating Detroit’s season-long numbers would otherwise have to price in as risk. A hold-in that lingers into the regular season, or a disgruntled star playing on a one-year tag, tends to weigh on a team’s projected floor. That risk is now off the board.

For prop bettors, the extension is a signal more than a catalyst. It confirms Detroit’s plan is to keep feeding Gibbs touches as the focal point of an offense that already ran through him heavily last season, which supports the case for his rushing yardage and touchdown props staying near the top of the running back market when regular-season lines open. It also reinforces where the league is pricing elite dual-threat backs relative to the field — with Gibbs and Robinson now bracketing each other at the top, any back who produces at a similar receiving-plus-rushing clip becomes a more interesting long-term value play in anytime touchdown and yardage markets as the season approaches.