Latest guard contract proves Darren Mougey cooked with Joe Tippmann's extension

This summer, the New York Jets got deals done with two key offensive cornerstones. First, running back Breece Hall, who was at first set to play the 2026 season on the franchise tag, signed a three-year, $43.5 million deal to remain in New York.

Then, almost a month later, the Jets got guard Joe Tippmann re-signed before the final year of his rookie contract, getting the former second-round draft pick locked down on a four-year, $62 million contract.

While neither contract is an overbearing weight for New York and its financial situation, the Tippmann contract should continue to age gracefully, especially in the wake of the latest guard extension.

The Atlanta Falcons got a deal done with offensive lineman Matthew Bergeron, and quite honestly, it pales in comparison to what the Jets got done with Tippmann.

New York Jets may have gotten a steal with Joe Tippmann's contract extension

On Saturday, it was reported by NFL Network's Mike Garafolo that Atlanta inked their 2023 draft pick to a four-year, $96 million contract.

With Bergeron earning $24 million on a per-year basis, it makes Tippmann's $15.5 million yearly salary look like an absolute steal.

The two players were only five picks apart in the 2023 NFL Draft, with Tippmann coming off the board at No. 43 overall.

Despite their difference in salary, the two players are on a relatively similar level. Last season, Tippmann graded out as Pro Football Focus' 33rd-highest-graded guard in the NFL, earning a grade of 66.0.

Bergeron, on the other hand, graded out as PFF's 22nd-best guard, 11 spots ahead of Tippmann, but is that really a large enough distance for the Falcons guard to earn a contract worth $34 million more than his draft classmate?

Probably not. Which, again, is another feather in the cap of general manager Darren Mougey, who continues to be proactive when it comes to contract extensions.

Mougey has made it a habit to get ahead of positional markets. Take last summer, for example, when he inked both Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson to lucrative multi-year deals.

At the time, Gardner was the NFL's highest-paid cornerback, and now the Indianapolis Colts DB is just the third-highest-paid player at his position.

Wilson, meanwhile, was in the top five at the time of his extension, and now falls to the seventh-highest-paid slot in the wake of new contracts for Jaxson Smith-Njigba and Drake London.

Hopefully, Mougey can keep this up throughout his tenure as general manager in New York.

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