Trey Flowers becomes 5th highest paid defensive player in NFL with USD 90 million contract

Trey Flowers put pen to paper on a $90 million contract Thursday, officially becoming the fifth-highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. The former Patriots defensive end, who aligned at six different positions for at least 15 snaps last season in New England, was a coveted chess piece for Matt Patricia's defense in Detroit. Patricia coached Flowers as defensive coordinator with the Patriots before he became head coach of the Lions last season.

Flowers racked up 21 sacks and 59 QB hits over the past three seasons. He received a $28 million signing bonus. At an average of $18 million per season, Flowers' annual salary exceeds the current number for franchise tagged defensive ends.

Bears linebacker Khalil Mack ($23.5 million), Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald ($22.5 million), Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence ($20.6 million) and Broncos linebacker Von Miller ($19.02 million) are scheduled to take home more per season than Flowers.