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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/guest_from_Europe on 2025-08-29 23:33:56+00:00.

Parsons just signed a contract more expensive than anyone else at his position.

So i take a look at how many such defense players (at or close to the top of their market) had team success, which ones reached a Super Bowl, not necessarily won.

Contract history data is by OverTheCap site. For each position i looked at about top 50 contracts in the history by cap% at the time of the signing.

If i missed someone, add it in the comments. Here is the list in the salary cap era:

  • 1995 CB Sanders signed a contract, Cowboys won in 1995
  • 1999 CB Law signed a contract, Patriots won in 2001, 2003, 2004
  • 2011 CB Bailey signed a contract, Broncos lost SB in 2013
  • 2014 CB Revis signed a contract, Patriots won in 2014
  • 2014 CB Sherman signed a contract, Seahawks lost Super Bowl in 2014
  • 2020 CB Ramsey signed a contract, Rams won in 2021
  • 2000 S Lynch signed a contract, Bucs won in 2002
  • 2007 S Polamalu signed a contract, Steelers won in 2008
  • 2014 S Earl Thomas signed a contract, Seahawks lost in 2014
  • 2015 S D. McCourthy signed a contract, Patriots won in 2016, 2018
  • 2019 CB/S Mathieu signed a contract, Chiefs won in 2019
  • 1998 LB Ray Lewis signed a contract, Ravens won in 2000
  • 2003 LB Urlacher signed a contract, Bears lost SB in 2006
  • 2010 LB Willis, 2012 LB Bowman signed contracts, 49ers lost SB in 2012
  • 2015 LB Kuechly signed a contract, Panthers lost Super Bowl in 2015
  • 2021 LB Warner signed a contract, 49ers lost Super Bowl in 2023
  • 1996 Reggie White signed a contract, Packers won in 1996, lost SB in 1997
  • 2004 EDGE Haggans signed a contract, Steelers won in 2005
  • 2007 EDGE Freeney signed a contract, Colts lost Super Bowl in 2009
  • 2011 EDGE Charles Johnson signed a contract, Panthers lost in 2015
  • 2019 EDGE Clark signed a contract, Chiefs won in 2019
  • 2023 EDGE Nick Bosa signed a contract, 49ers lost in 2023
  • 1998 DT Sapp signed a contract, Bucs won in 2002
  • 2011 DT Ngata signed a contract, Ravens won in 2012
  • 2016 DT Cox signed a contract, Eagles won in 2017
  • 2018 DT Donald signed a contract, Rams won in 2021
  • 2020 DT Chris Jones signed a contract, Chiefs won SB in 2022, 2023
  • 2024 DT Chris Jones signed a contract, Chiefs lost SB in 2024

That is 30 years of data and 28 such players reached a Super Bowl with the signing team. Pass rushers aren’t represented better or worse than other positions. It’s just trivia, there is little causation here. It’s mostly a list of HOFers.

Most of these were extensions of drafted players. Free agents were 1995 Sanders, 1996 White, 2014 Revis, 2019 Mathieu. Traded for were only in 2019 Frank Clark, Ramsey.

Only about 1/10 of the most expensive contracts worked out so well that teams reached a Super Bowl at least once with the signed player.

What are the chances that a good contending team reaches a Super Bowl in their conference? In the last 10 seasons 6 various NFC teams and 4 AFC teams reached a Super Bowl. In the last 20 seasons it was 12 NFC teams and only 7 AFC teams, in total more than half of the league.