The Biggest contracts in Arizona Cardinals history
By Kyler Burd
Tyrann Mathieu got the money from the Arizona Cardinals as well.
Indeed, some would say the greatest safety in franchise history is the legendary Larry Wilson. Still, the highest-paid player at that position is a current member of the New Orleans Saints: Tyrann Mathieu.
Mathieu signed a five-year, $62.5 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals in 2016. Famously, Mathieu did not play out this whole deal but was released by the team after the 2017 season.
Since then, he has had a long-running beef with the Cardinals front office and will take nearly any opportunity to trash the organization that took a chance on a young player out of LSU that was in danger of going undrafted.
However, let’s keep in mind that he was a great player when wearing Cardinal red. He finished fifth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2013 and was a Pro Bowler/First-Team All-Pro in 2015.
As mentioned on the last slide, Mathieu was a member of the “No Fly Zone” Cardinals defense alongside Patrick Peterson, which was consistently in the Top Ten from 2013 to 2015.
Was the deal worth it?
Considering Mathieu only played on this contract for two years before a long, dramatic saga saw him leave the desert, the only appropriate answer is no.
Yes, he was a fantastic player and went on to have many more years of fabulous play, most notably with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he won a Super Bowl in 2020. Still, ultimately the Cardinals made a mistake giving this offer to Mathieu.