Titans Make Jeffery Simmons NFL’s Highest-Paid Defensive Tackle With Massive Extension

The Tennessee Titans agreed to a rich contract extension with star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons on Friday, cementing the franchise’s commitment to its defensive cornerstone for years to come.

The Financial Terms

The Titans did not reveal financial terms, but multiple reports have Simmons receiving a three-year extension worth $105.8 million — with $100 million guaranteed — through the 2030 season.

The $35.27 million annual average salary makes Simmons the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history, surpassing the Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones, who previously held the mark at a $31.75 million average.

A Career-Best Season

The extension comes on the heels of arguably the finest individual season of Simmons’ career. Simmons, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, recorded a career-best 11 sacks in 2025. He also set personal bests with 17 tackles for loss and 21 quarterback hits. The 28-year-old has played all seven of his NFL seasons with the Titans, never having worn another team’s uniform since entering the league.

Simmons was a first-team All-Pro as well as a Pro Bowl pick last season while contributing 67 tackles and three forced fumbles to go with his lofty sack total — a level of all-around production that placed him among the most disruptive interior defenders in the entire league.

Simmons’ Statement on the Deal

Simmons expressed deep gratitude toward the organization that drafted him and has remained his only NFL home throughout his career. “Tennessee has become a second home for me,” Simmons said in a news release. “From day one, this organization believed in me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue to pour into this franchise and community. I want to thank God, my family, my teammates, Ms. Amy (Adams Strunk, the owner) and the entire Titans organization for believing in me. My job isn’t finished. I believe in this locker room and this staff, and I’m focused on helping this team get back to competing for championships.”

Career Numbers Since Entering the League

Simmons has built one of the most consistently productive careers among interior defensive linemen since being drafted by Tennessee. He has 376 tackles, 42.5 sacks, 66 tackles for loss, eight forced fumbles, and six fumble recoveries in 99 games, with 97 starts, since entering the NFL in 2019.

The General Manager’s Perspective

Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi emphasized both Simmons’ on-field dominance and his broader value to the organization in explaining the decision to lock him up long-term. “Jeffery Simmons is a pillar for our franchise and embodies what it means to be a Titan,” Borgonzi said in the news release. “He’s the premier defensive tackle in the National Football League and you win with players like Jeffery.”

Borgonzi extended his praise beyond Simmons’ play on the field, pointing to his standing within the locker room and the broader Nashville community. “Not only is his leadership on the field what we want our program to represent, but off the field, he sets the standard for our community,” Borgonzi said. “You always want to keep your best players and we accomplished that today. We’re excited for Jeffery to be here in Nashville for the long haul.”

A Brief Playoff Résumé Tied to an Earlier Era

Simmons’ lone stretch of postseason football came earlier in his career, during a period when the Titans were consistently competing for championships under a different head coach. Simmons has played in five career playoff games, all coming in 2019-21 during Mike Vrabel’s stint as head coach. He recorded three sacks against the Cincinnati Bengals in a 19-16 AFC Divisional round loss on January 22, 2022 — a performance that remains one of the signature individual showings of his postseason career, even in defeat.

What the Deal Means for Tennessee’s Defense

The extension provides the Titans with long-term cost and roster certainty at one of the most valuable defensive positions in modern football, locking in their best defensive player through the 2030 season at a position the organization has clearly identified as foundational to its rebuilding efforts. With Simmons signed through the end of the decade, Tennessee’s front office now has a clear anchor around which to continue building out the rest of its defensive personnel in both the draft and free agency.

The timing of the deal, coming off a career-best statistical season, also reflects the Titans’ apparent confidence that Simmons, now entering his late 20s, has not yet reached the peak of his physical abilities — a significant bet for any franchise to make on an interior defensive lineman, a position where workload and physical wear can often accelerate decline compared to other roles on the field.

A Statement of Franchise Direction

Beyond the financial and on-field implications, the extension also serves as a broader signal of how the Titans intend to approach roster construction as the franchise looks to climb back into playoff contention. By making Simmons the highest-paid player at his position in NFL history, Tennessee has effectively staked its rebuilding timeline to its homegrown star, betting that his combination of disruptive interior pass-rush ability and locker-room leadership will be central to any future return to postseason football.

With Simmons now signed through 2030, the Titans’ immediate offseason focus will likely shift toward continuing to build complementary pieces around him on both sides of the ball as the franchise works to return to the level of competitiveness it experienced during the Vrabel era, when Simmons made his only playoff appearances to date. For Simmons personally, the extension provides long-term financial security and a clear vote of confidence from ownership and the front office — but as he made clear in his own statement on the deal, his stated focus remains on helping the franchise get back to competing for championships, rather than simply collecting the record-setting contract now in hand.