PHOENIX — Cardinals safety Budda Baker makes more money than Patrick Peterson, Larry Fitzgerald and DeAndre Hopkins.
Before Tuesday, the four highest-paid safeties in the NFL were 26-year-old. Baker is just 24-years-old, and his new 4-year, $59-million dollar extension is well deserved.
“Pave the way for the money man,” says Chandler Jones walking onto the field for practice. When you get paid, you get a new nickname and a special welcome.
“(Teammates are calling him) Moneyman or money guy, all those types of things are being said,” Baker explains after signing his new contract. “It’s all out of love. As soon as I got to the locker room, I got a round of applause from all the players. So it was definitely a cool experience, now it’s just a matter of showing.”
Baker has a reputation for showing up on the field.
“To other coaches across the league prior to the game, the name that comes up quite a bit a Budda Baker,” says Cardinals general manager Steve Keim. “That guy is just different.”
Baker is all heart, all football, he’s the example. “When we started our scouting meetings last year, I started off our meeting by showing them a clip of a play from the Pittsburgh Steelers last year,” said Keim.
“We had a number of missed tackles on a wide receiver screen. Budda Baker had screamed across the field and pass a number of his teammates and knocked the player out of bounce before he hit the goal line. That was an emphasis on 'What does a Cardinal look like.’ To me, that's everything Budda Baker embodies. His passion, his love for the game, his speed, his explosiveness, and his desire.”
What does a Cardinal look like?
He's 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds. A second-round pick who the Cardinals traded up to get in 2017. Some labeled Baker as undersized coming out of college. Now his resume reads 2-time pro-bowler, NFL leader in solo tackles last year and high paid safety in the league.
"It’s (contract) a great thing that this happened and I’m truly blessed that this happened,” Baker said. “Now, my full focus getting my teammates better, getting the team better and hopefully get some more wins.”
Bubba’s worth ethic and motivation come from his family.
From his old brother Robert, who was incarcerated for 8-years for first-degree robbery and possession of a firearm when Budda was 13-years-old. “Right when he got out (of prison), he showed me the right way,” Baker told 12Sports during his introductory press conference back in 2017. In May 2018, Robert was shot and killed. “I think about him every single day. But I know he’s looking down on me and he knows that I’m doing the right thing.”
From his mom: “To be able to help her is the utmost special and something I’ve always dreamed about doing.”
