Bengals ink DE Dunlap to new six-year contract

Updated on Saturday, July 20 at 3 p.m.

The Cincinnati Bengals and former Florida Gators defensive end Carlos Dunlap came to terms Monday on a brand new six-year contract that includes $40 million in base salary alone, according to Pro Football Talk.

Instead of earning just $630,000 in base salary on the final year of his rookie deal, he will earn $20 million between now and the conclusion of the 2014 season.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer‘s Joe Ready, Dunlap already received an $8 million signing bonus and will tack on $1.3 million in base salary for 2013. He will also pick up an additional $3.7 million when he reports to training camp this year and $5.7 million more as a roster bonus if he remains with the team on March 31, 2014.

Dunlap is also due a $300,000 annually via workout bonus and annual salaries of $1 million in 2014, $3 million in 2015, $4.05 million in 2016, $5.05 million in 2017 and $6.7 million in 2018. He can earn an additional $4.5 million in escalators.

A first-round talent who slipped to the second round and became the No. 54 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft due to some maturity concerns following a DUI arrest prior to the 2009 SEC Championship, Dunlap left Florida as a junior and came on strong during his rookie season in Cincinnati.

He registered 8.5 sacks in the final six games of the 2010 campaign and finished with 9.5 takedowns that year. Dunlap has been unable to duplicate that pass rushing success, totaling 10.5 sacks in the last two seasons, but he did force four fumbles (recovering three) in 2012 while also grabbing his first career interception and returning it 14 yards for a touchdown.

At just 24 years old, Dunlap’s ceiling remains high, and he is on the way to earning a full-time starting role with the Bengals.

Dunlap won OnlyGators.com’s NFL Player of the Week award four times in 2012, tied for second-most among Gators in the league last season.

He is the second former Florida player to sign a lucrative six-year contract in this offseason as wide receiver Percy Harvin inked a $67 million deal after being traded to the Seattle Seahawks.

Photo Credit: Associated Press