Olu Fashanu, a first-round selection of the New York Jets, inked a four-year, $20.51 million contract on Monday.
The five-year team option is included in the fully guaranteed contract with the former offensive tackle from Penn State. Last month, when the Jets traded one pick for the Minnesota Vikings, Fashanu was selected with the eleventh overall pick.
The 6-foot-6, 312-pound Fashanu adds depth to the Jets’ redesigned offensive line, provides quarterback Aaron Rodgers with more protection, and might be a starter in the future.
Not long after Fashanu was selected, coach Robert Saleh remarked, “The young man is only 21 years old and he hasn’t even scratched the surface.” “And he is entering a scenario where he will discover precisely what it takes to be successful in this league.”
Fashanu won the Big Ten offensive lineman of the year award the previous season and was named to the Associated Press first team All-America. He started for the Nittany Lions for two seasons at left tackle and gave up only one sack throughout his time in college.
Tyron Smith, a veteran who previously played for the Dallas Cowboys, inked a one-year contract worth up to $20 million with the Jets, thus he is expected to support him this season.
After being picked, Fashanu remarked, “I feel like I’m kind of living like a fairytale or something like that.” “He was the first player I ever saw in a tackle movie.” When I first started playing football in high school as a freshman, he was the gold standard for left tackles.
“So what more could I ask for, in my opinion, than to have the chance to watch years and years of his films and now to have this wonderful opportunity to learn with him, pick his brain for any pearls of wisdom?”
Fashanu is anticipated to be healthy for the start of training camp in July, having missed some of rookie minicamp earlier this month due to an injured quadriceps that he sustained when running the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in Indianapolis in February.
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