Quarterback · Arizona Cardinals

Jacoby Brissett

No. 7 · 11th season

Jacoby Brissett negotiated his own $15 million deal and said it cost him sleep

Most players hand a contract negotiation to an agent and wait for the call. Brissett sat across from the Arizona Cardinals front office himself, no intermediary, and worked out a deal that more than tripled what he was set to make this season.

He had been in the second year of a contract worth about $4.88 million in base salary. He wanted more, skipped most of the team's offseason practice sessions to make the point, and then did something almost no one at his level does: he represented himself through the whole thing.

When it was over, the new deal had a base salary of $15.5 million, with a chance to reach $21 million. That is roughly a $10 million raise, negotiated without anyone splitting the fee. Brissett said he was glad it was done. He also said it cost him sleep.

That last part is the honest part. He got what he wanted, but he earned it in a way that did not let him look away. No agent absorbs the stress. No one else takes the calls or sits with the uncertainty. That was all him, right up until training camp opened and he had to strap the pads on anyway.

He is back with the first team Tuesday. The business is settled. Now comes the part where he has to prove the number right.

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