Tyrann Mathieu signs contract extension with Cardinals

Tyrann Mathieu woke up this morning a much richer man. After a terrific season with the Arizona Cardinals that had him in Defensive Player of the Year conversations and got him named AP First Team All-Pro Safety, the man affectionately known as Honey Badger signed a 5 year/$62.5MM extension to remain with the Cardinals for the long run. It also makes him the highest paid safety in the NFL. And when you’re making plays like this, it’s not hard to see why

There was plenty of praise for Mathieu from the national media, with ESPN (insider required) saying he was worth “every penny” of his deal: http://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/17204299/tyrann-mathieu-arizona-cardinals-worth-every-penny-5-year-625-million-extension

The love didn’t just come from the media, but also from Mathieu’s teammate and LSU brother Patrick Peterson:

Personally, I can’t say I’ve ever been happier for a player getting paid more than I am for Mathieu. He’s been on a long road, certainly some of it self inflicted, but he fought back from it. He made himself a terrific NFL player and then he got hurt. Then made himself even better and got hurt again. But now he can certainly say he’s made it. And that’s something worth cheering about. Well done, Badger.