Tunsil reportedly highest-paid OL
Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil agreed to a three-year, $75 million contact extension, according to reports.
The new deal makes Tunsil the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL. The deal includes a $30 million signing bonus with $50 million fully guaranteed and $60 million in total guarantees, according to ESPN.
The 28-year-old’s extension comes after he was selected to his third Pro Bowl last season. He started in all 17 games for the Texans (3-13-1) last season and ranked among the best at left tackle.
Tunsil allowed just one sack all season and ranked 17th among offensive tackles with a 91.9% pass-block win rate.
The former Ole Miss star told ESPN in December he wanted to be the highest paid offensive tackle. The contract extension reached Tunsil’s goal, surpassing 49ers left tackle Trent Williams, who makes $23.01 million per year.
The Dolphins picked Tunsil 13th overall in the 2016 draft. Tunsil was expected to get selected higher, but a video showing him smoking marijuana in a gas mask surfaced on social media and affected his draft stock.
After three seasons with the Dolphins, Tunsil was traded to Houston with wide receiver Kenny Stills in exchange for cornerback Johnson Bademosi, tackle Julien Davenport and draft compensation in 2019.
The Dolphins also received draft compensation in the deal.
Tunsil’s contract extension comes on the same day the Texans traded wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Cowboys for a fifth-round pick in 2023 and a sixth-round pick in 2024, according to ESPN.
MISSOURI LB SUSPENDED
Missouri linebacker Chad Bailey was suspended from the team after he was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated early Sunday, the team said.
The 23-year-old, who was a team captain last season, was booked at 2:45 a.m. and released after posting $500 bond, according to online records from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.
“We are aware of the situation involving Chad Bailey,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a statement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He’s been suspended according to department of athletics policy. We have high expectations for all of our student-athletes, on and off the field, and we will follow all departmental and campus policies.”
Bailey was Mizzou’s third-leading tackler with 57 stops last season. He started all 11 games he played, missing two with an injury. He’ll be a sixth-year senior this fall after opting to return for his final year of eligibility, the Post-Dispatch reported.
The Missouri student-athlete handbook says any athlete who is arrested must serve a minimum one-week suspension.
SHIFFRIN ENDS SEASON WITH A WIN
After capping her record-setting season with career win 88, Mikaela Shiffrin was asked one question over and over again – and she couldn’t really answer it.
What’s next?
“What do you think will come next? How many victories?,” Johan Eliasch, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, wanted to know after handing Shiffrin her fifth big crystal globe, the prize for winning the World Cup overall title.
“I don’t have a guess at how many,” Shiffrin replied. “Sometimes a part of me feels like that’s always my last victory. I hope not, I keep heading for more.”
A week after breaking the record of Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark, the American extended the all-time best mark for most career wins to 88 by winning the last race of the season, a giant slalom at the World Cup Finals on Sunday.
Her 21st career win in the discipline marked yet another milestone as it moved Shiffrin past Swiss skier Vreni Schneider, who won 20 World Cup GS titles between the mid-80s and mid-90s. The American has won seven of the last eight events and took the GS world title last month.