There was an Oklahoma Sooner behind a record-breaking contract in the NFL.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett on Sunday signed a four-year contract extension with the Browns that averages $40 million a year and includes $123.5 million in guaranteed money, according to multiple reports.
The contract made Garrett the highest-paid player who's not a quarterback in NFL history.
Before Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers' Nick Bosa had the most guaranteed money among NFL edge rushers at $119.9 million. Based on yearly average on a three-year scale, the Las Vegas' Raiders' Maxx Crosby was the highest-paid defensive end at $35.5 million.
Garrett's new deal crushed both totals. Before the new contract, Garrett was making $26.7 million a year, which was sixth among edge rushers.
Just finishing his eighth season in the NFL, Garrett is a six-time Pro Bowler and was NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. The Browns drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the year before they took former OU quarterback Baker Mayfield with the top pick in 2018.
Other than Garrett's performance on the field, his agent, Nicole Lynn, was a major influence in Garrett securing a record deal.
Lynn graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2015. Within five years, in 2019, she became the first Black woman to ever represent an NFL Draft pick when Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was taken by the New York Jets with the third overall pick.
Today, at 36, Lynn is the president of football operations for Klutch Sports Group. She's also published an autobiography titled, Agent You.
Lynn also represents a fellow Sooner in Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. In 2023, Lynn helped Hurts land a record contract of his own. Hurts signed a five-year contract extension worth $255 million, which at the time was the largest contract by average annual value in NFL history.
Hurts backed up his worth this past season after leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl championship and earned Super Bowl MVP honors after beating the Kansas City Chiefs.
Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts and @AgentNicoleLynn pic.twitter.com/jJYhDhMeBL
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) February 10, 2025
Lynn is part of Hurts' all-woman management team, including his agent, manager, and marketing and communications representatives, that has garnered headlines. Hurts was asked about that before the Super Bowl.
"It's something that happened organically," Hurts said. "I was seeking out the best, and that's how it happened. And honestly, for me, it's an eye that I don't have that I'm able to lean on in certain situations. That's something I value heavily."