Vikings' extension for Xavier Rhodes among largest for a cornerback
— -- MANKATO, Minn. -- Cornerback Xavier Rhodes has signed a contract extension with the Minnesota Vikings, the team announced Sunday.
The Vikings did not disclose the terms of the deal, but a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter that the six-year, $78.126 million extension is one of the largest?ever given to a cornerback.
The new contract includes $41 million guaranteed and pays more than $42 million over the first three years, the source said. Rhodes becomes the third-highest-paid cornerback in the NFL in terms of per-year salary, behind Trumaine Johnson and Josh Norman.
Rhodes tweeted about his new contract Sunday afternoon.
It was the second time in as many weeks that the Vikings have locked up a defensive starter. Last week, the Vikings signed defensive end Everson Griffen to a five-year, $58 million extension. The two deals could keep both players under contract through the 2022 season.
Rhodes said the signing brought back "flashbacks" of a life that he did not always think was destined for football achievement.
"I just have flashbacks, playing receiver and running back in high school and going to college and being converted to corner. I had a moment in my life, at that moment, that I didn't think I was going to be here, standing in front of you guys and ladies. But it was a blessing. I was upset at first, but now I see that the coaches saw something in me at corner, and so I just trusted them and believed, and now I'm here."
Rhodes, 27, earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl last season and is considered one of the NFL's most physical and skilled cover corners. Without a new contract, Rhodes would have earned $8.026 million this season and would have been eligible for free agency in the spring.
He has turned out to be the best of the three players the Vikings drafted in the first round in 2013. Wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson departed via free agency in March, signing with the Oakland Raiders. Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd remains with the Vikings but is on the non-football injury list because of nerve damage in his knee that developed last year after surgery.
