Brandon Graham Talks Candidly About His Contract

It doesn't appear that Brandon Graham is going to be shy about this. 

He wants a new contract. 

The Eagles' star 29-year-old defensive end, pretty fresh off making the biggest play in Super Bowl LII (see story), was on NBC Sports Philadelphia's Quick Slants Wednesday night and was asked about his future. 

Here's what he said: 

"For me, it's all about getting as much as you can while you can play because when it's over, it's over. I know Howie (Roseman) and those guys, if they want me here, they're going to make sure that they get me here. For me, I want to be here. Everybody knows I want to be here. They see the passion I have and I'm happy to be able to bring the trophy back to Philly. Now, it's just all about just making sense, just getting me protected for the future. Because obviously I want to retire here and I know I'm going to retire here because I've been here a long time. I would love to retire here. It's all on what they want to do. I'm just going to embrace it, whatever it is."

Pretty clear. He wants a new deal. Obviously he wants a new deal. 

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Graham had a career-high 9½ sacks in 2017 and was the Eagles' most disruptive pass rusher while also being dynamic for the team's NFL-best run defense. 

Graham is entering the final year of his current contract (a four-year deal from 2015) that will pay him a base salary of $7 million in 2018, but he's been playing at an extremely high level and he's watched as defensive line teammates Fletcher Cox, Vinny Curry and now Tim Jernigan have all cashed in. He understandably thinks it's now his turn. 

Before the start of last season, the Eagles added $1.5 million in incentives to the final two years of Graham's contract. At the time, it was a nice showing of good faith. 

You'll remember that Graham was missing for part of the Eagles' voluntary workout program last offseason. While it was reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer that his absence was fueled by contract concerns and it was possible he would miss OTAs, that was never proven. Graham denied that report and showed up when OTAs began. Maybe there wasn't a dispute at the time, but it has been pretty clear that Graham wants a new contract. 

The real question surrounding all this is about what Graham is willing to do in an attempt to get a new deal. After all, he's under contract for this season and the first mandatory dates don't come until June. Would he be willing to get fined for missing a mandatory minicamp or even more substantial fines for missing training camp to prove a point? 

None of that is clear yet as the confetti from the Eagles' first Super Bowl championship has just been cleaned up. What is clear is that Graham wants a new contract and is seemingly deserving. Now, we'll just have to see how it all goes. 

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