What you need to know about the Lions ability to exercise fifth-year options in 2026.
With the Detroit Lions’ 2025 season coming to a close, their roster begins its transition to the offseason. While most of the attention is paid to the Lions’ upcoming pending free agents, the players from Detroit’s incredible 2023 NFL Draft class enter a unique phase of their rookie contracts.
Eligibility for fifth-year options
This offseason, the members of the Lions’ 2023 draft class who remain on Detroit’s roster will be entering the final year of their rookie contract and, therefore, become eligible for contract extensions at the conclusion of the 2025 regular season. Additionally, players who were drafted in the first round are also eligible for a team-held fifth-year option.
That means running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell are eligible for an extension and/or a fifth-year option, while tight end Sam LaPorta, safety Brian Branch, and offensive linemen Colby Sorsdal are only eligible for extensions. The remaining players from that draft class—Hendon Hooker, Brodric Martin, and Antoine Green—are no longer under contract with the Lions.
How the fifth-year option works
Gibbs and Campbell enter the fourth year of their rookie contracts, which are set to expire after the 2026 season. However, if the team elects to apply their fifth-year option, it would extend the contract through 2027 by adding a fully guaranteed fifth year.
The NFL pre-determines the value of a player’s fifth-year option by applying three factors: 1) draft slot, 2) playing time, and 3) Pro Bowl selections. The popular salary cap website OverTheCap.com does a good job of breaking down what those fifth-year option costs would look like for each player eligible, based on the incentives triggered.
Gibb’s fifth-year option projection
Gibbs was drafted No. 12 overall, met the playing-time incentives, and was selected to three Pro Bowls, which means his contract moves up to the fourth (maximum) tier. OTC is projecting a fifth-year option of $14,143,000 (fully guaranteed) for Gibbs during the 2027 season.
Campbell’s fifth-year option projection
Campbell was drafted with the No. 18 overall pick, met the playing-time incentives, and was selected to one Pro Bowl (2025), meaning his contract moves to the third tier. OTC is projecting a fifth-year option of $22,990,000 (fully guaranteed) for Campbell during the 2027 season.
Deadline to apply fifth-year option
The NFL wants to give teams a reasonable amount of time to make a determination on a player’s fifth-year option and, therefore, allows each organization to wait until the conclusion of free agency and the NFL Draft before assigning a deadline. Each year, the NFL sets the deadline for fifth-year options to be roughly one week after the first day of the NFL Draft.
In 2026, the deadline to apply a fifth-year option to an eligible player is May 1.
Can a team give a fifth-year option player a contract extension?
Yes. Because a player eligible for a fifth-year option is also eligible for a contract extension, the team could opt to bypass the extension altogether, or they can include it in the extension. We have seen the Lions include fifth-year options in extensions in recent years, with Penei Sewell in 2024 andAidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams this past offseason.
With Sewell and Hutchinson, the Lions kept the final year of their rookie contracts in place, applied the fifth-year option, and then added another four-year contract extension on top of that. In the end, the Lions managed to create a contract that extended Sewell through the 2029 season and Hutchinson through 2030. Williams saw his fifth-year option and three extension years added onto his rookie contract, extending him through 2029.
When can the Lions assign fifth-year options/sign contract extensions?
Immediately following the conclusion of the regular season. That means general manager Brad Holmes and his staff can begin negotiations with players and their agents starting January 5, 2026.
What is a reasonable timeline for the option to be applied?
While the Lions likely will make these decisions earlier than they publicly announce, it’s worth noting that the Lions typically make some level of acknowledgment that they’re picking up a players fifth-year option around the NFL Draft.
With Sewell, the Lions never officially acknowledged they were picking up his fifth-year option, but did announce his contract extension on the first day of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Similarly, on the first day of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Lions acknowledged they were exercising the fifth-year options on Hutchinson and Williams. However, negotiations extended into the season, and Williams’ new contract extension was reached in early September, while Hutchinson’s was finalized in late October.
So while picking up a player’s option may seem like an easy decision on the surface, things could take time behind the scenes and may take even longer to be acknowledged publicly.
Category: General Sports
