Panthers defensive end Derrick Brown agrees to four-year, $96 million extension

Updated Apr. 5, 2024 1:26 p.m. ET

Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Pro Bowl defensive end Derrick Brown is staying in Carolina.

Brown agreed to a four-year, $96 million extension that includes $63.1 million in guaranteed money on Friday, according to his agents Drew Rosenhaus, Jason Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey.

Brown, a first-round pick in 2000 out of Auburn, is coming off a year in which he set an NFL record for tackles by a defensive lineman with 103, breaking the mark of 98 set by Miami’s Christian Wilkins in 2022. Tackles became an official NFL stat in 1994.

The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Brown rarely came off the field last season, playing in 89% of the team's snaps.

Brown had shown signs of a breakout season.

Coming off a 2022 season in which he set a Panthers record for tackles by a lineman with 67, he took his game to a different level last season after the Panthers switched to a 3-4 defensive scheme under coordinator Ejiro Evero.

Brown has 245 tackles and eight sacks during his four-year career in Carolina.

He was in the final year of his rookie contract and was set to make $11.7 million in 2024.

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