Packers sign Jaire Alexander to four-year, $84M extension, making him NFL's highest-paid defensive back

The star cornerback is now locked up through 2026

The Packers may have lost a big name in Davante Adams this offseason, but they secured another one for the long haul on Monday, signing Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander to a four-year, $84 million extension that'll keep him tied to Green Bay through the 2026 season, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora confirms. Drafted 18th overall by the Packers in 2018, the 25-year-old Alexander will earn an average of $21M per year on his new deal, making him the highest-paid defensive back in the NFL.

Alexander's new contract includes a $31M payout in 2022, almost all of which stems from a $30M signing bonus -- the largest ever for a defensive back. The All-Pro cover man was set to enter the final year of his rookie contract, which would've paid $13.29M this season under the fifth-year option. Now, Alexander has eclipsed the Browns' Denzel Ward as the highest-paid corner, confirmed as the long-term centerpiece of Green Bay's secondary.

The Louisville product has been one of the Packers' top players since his arrival. After starting 11 games as a rookie, he emerged as a full-time starter in 2019, helping guide Green Bay to its first of two straight NFC Championship appearances with 17 pass deflections and two interceptions. He earned his first All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods the following year, grading as one of the NFL's stingiest cover men in 15 starts, before missing all but four games in 2021 thanks to a shoulder injury that required surgery.

Alexander, who appeared briefly in the 2021 playoffs after returning from injury, is set to open 2022 back in the lineup opposite Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes at cornerback.