Dexter

May 8, 2023, 8:37 AM

Giants’ Dexter Lawrence in pursuit of something far more important than money to him

Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (97) signed his four-year, $90-million contract extension Friday as the team held a rookie camp. Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

At some point during their careers, the greatest of professional athletes in the major sports get the kind of contract that changes their lives.

Dexter Lawrence agreed to that kind of deal Thursday from his Florida home and flew to New Jersey Friday to sign it as the Giants started a rookie camp in East Rutherford.

“Now I have the opportunity to change my kids’ kids life and I’m happy about that,” the Giants’ star defensive tackle said.

The biggest difference between winning the professional sports lottery and the actual lottery is that once you get a four-year $90-million contract extension like the one Lawrence received, the expectations for the player go sky high.

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That’s fine with Lawrence because he is far more concerned with being great than being wealthy.

“The people I surround myself with, we just talk about being great and whatever comes with being great comes with being great,” Lawrence said. “Obviously everybody loves to get paid, everybody loves to have money, but the people in our room, we talk about how to win and how to be great.”

Lawrence, after being very good during his first three NFL seasons, was great in 2022, setting career highs with 7 1/2 sacks, seven tackles for losses and 63 total pressures. Pro Football Focus graded Lawrence as the second best interior defender in the NFL behind only Kansas City’s Chris Jones.

“I feel like I’m definitely up there,” Lawrence said when asked where he ranked among the best defensive tackles in the NFL. “But I missed a lot of plays last year that I know that I can get and it eats at me a lot. Right now, I want to continue to master my craft and finish off plays that I could have made last year.”

Exactly where Lawrence ranks among NFL defensive tackles is open for debate, but in terms of being paid he is tied for third with Washington’s Daron Payne. The only two players ahead of him are Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams and Jeffery Simmons, who recently signed with the Tennessee Titans.

It’s possible — perhaps even probable — that the Jets’ Quinnen Williams also passes Lawrence before the offseason is over.

“I wasn’t out here trying to set records or do anything like that,” Lawrence said. “I was just trying to be respected. The market was the market. At the end of the day, I’m happy with my contract. That’s why I signed and I’m ready to get out here and play football with my guys.”

While Lawrence admits the money could change the lives of his family, he insisted it is not going to change him.

“I’m very humble and kind guy and joyful,” Lawrence said. “Money is just what I have now. It’s not who I am as a person. What I want to be known as is a guy who genuinely cares about people and a guy who has earned a lot of respect.”

Another thing that eats at Lawrence is the way last season ended. The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Giants for a third time in the NFC Divisional round and for the second time the game was not even close. Lawrence also had one of his worst games of the season in the loss.

“Yeah, I don’t like that,” Lawrence said. “I don’t like that. Too many times.”

Now, he has an extended chance to change the narrative about the Giants’ inability to beat both the Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. Those two teams have gone a combined 22-3 against the Giants since 2017 and were 5-0 against them last season.

“Through the whole process, I knew I wanted to play here and I wanted to be a Giant,” Lawrence said. “We have something going here and we’re building something special. You can see it from the outside and inside it’s even more beautiful.”

Lawrence, of course, does appreciate the money. He plans to buy a lake house.

“I’m a chill guy,” he said. “I think all my excitement happened five minutes after my agent called me. It was like, ‘OK, you got the deal.’ It took me a second to process it. My mom and my lady were in town down in Florida, so that was good. We got to do our little happy dance, so that was cool. It was great.”

Now, it’s time for Lawrence to live up to the deal that is going to help take care of future generations of his family.

“I don’t feel pressure like that simply because I prepare myself and I know where I am as a player and I know what i can do,” he said. “I know if I’m on top of what I have to do then everything takes care of itself. I’m mastering my craft and I’ll continue to do that. I don’t feel pressure going into games. This is obviously a big deal, but I don’t see it as pressure. I embrace it. I embrace having to step up and proving my worth and continuing to do that.”

When it’s over, Lawrence wants to be more than great.

“I want to be a Hall of Famer,” he said. “I’m going to be.”

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