GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals are making two-time Pro Bowl selection Budda Baker the highest-paid safety in NFL history by giving him a four-year extension worth $59 million, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
Baker was Arizona's second-round pick in 2017, and his rookie contract was set to expire after this season. The deal will average $14.75 million per year, but no other financial details were disclosed. The Cardinals announced the four-year extension Tuesday.
"It's definitely an exciting thing for me to be labeled [as the highest-paid safety in league history], to say that," Baker said. "It was a very cool experience and it's a very cool experience right now. But, for me, I'm just trying to earn what I will make now. I'm labeled as this player and now I have to show out and continue to show out each and every week. And that's my goals and my plans to do that."
Baker's extension comes four years after the Cardinals gave another star safety, Tyrann Mathieu, a long-term extension. Mathieu's deal was for five years and worth $62.5 million, but he was released after the 2017 season.
Baker is the first second-round pick to receive either an extension or second deal under general manager Steve Keim, who was hired in 2013.
Keim said Baker's extension "took so much time" because of uncertainty around next season's salary cap. Getting Baker's deal done now gives the Cardinals some "cost certainty" and allows them to start getting a better feel for their financials, especially where cash is committed, Keim said. Reports have speculated that the salary-cap floor in 2021 will be $175 million, so the timing was right for Baker's deal, Keim added.
"That's going to be something we're going to have to work through here in the future, knowing that we have to operate at a certain number," Keim said. "But, Budda was at the top of our list and we knew that we had to get him extended, and we knew that we wanted him to be a core player here for a long time."
The 24-year-old Baker is coming off his second Pro Bowl year and his first as a safety.
He recorded 147 tackles last season and led the NFL with 104 solo tackles, the only player with at least 100 solo tackles in 2019.
Baker does not have an interception since entering the NFL in 2017 from the University of Washington, however, and has played the most coverage snaps (1,261) of any player during that span to not have intercepted a pass.
He also has recorded 33 quarterback pressures since entering the NFL, the most by any defensive back during that span.
Arizona allowed just two completions of 30 yards or more last season. Baker also has been a factor in Arizona's run defense. His 33 run stuffs, defined by NFL Next Gen Stats as tackles on run plays for no gain or a loss, are tied with Jamal Adams for second most among defensive backs since 2017.
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.