Four weeks after the start of the NFL’s free-agency period, the biggest contract of the offseason for a player with Alabama football roots wasn’t signed by a free agent.

The Washington Commanders used their franchise tag for 2023 to keep Daron Payne from becoming an unrestricted free agent on March 15, then signed the former Alabama defensive tackle to a four-year, $90 million contract that included a $28 million signing bonus and $59.01 million in guaranteed money.

Payne’s new deal is the fourth-largest contract currently held by a player from an Alabama high school or college. The former Shades Valley High School star comes in behind wide receiver Tyreek Hill (West Alabama), who has four seasons remaining on a $120 million contract with the Miami Dolphins; wide receiver Amari Cooper (Alabama), who has two seasons remaining on a $100 million contract with the Cleveland Browns, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey (Hoover, Alabama), who has four seasons remaining on a $97.5 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens.

Twenty of the 37 players from Alabama high schools and colleges who became unrestricted free agents four weeks ago have new contracts. Five of the players re-signed with their 2022 teams and 15 changed teams.

The players with Alabama football roots who have new contracts since becoming free agents four weeks ago include (with contract information from spotrac.com):

· Cornerback Tony Brown (Alabama) re-signed with the Indianapolis Colts. Brown signed a one-year, $1,232,500 contract that included a $152,000 signing bonus and $500,000 in guaranteed money.

· Defensive tackle Byron Cowart (Auburn) signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. Cowart signed a one-year, $1.08 million contract.

· Linebacker Tae Davis (Oxford) signed with the Atlanta Falcons. Davis signed a one-year, $1,232,500 contract that included a $101,500 signing bonus, which is the guaranteed portion of the deal.

· Safety Rudy Ford (New Hope, Auburn) re-signed with the Green Bay Packers. Ford signed a four-year, $3,761,088 contract that included a $101,088 signing bonus, which is the guaranteed portion of the deal.

· Running back Damien Harris (Alabama) signed with the Buffalo Bills. Harris signed a one-year, $1.77 million that included a $600,000 signing bonus and $1 million in guaranteed money.

· Tight end O.J. Howard (Autauga Academy, Alabama) signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. Howard signed a one-year, $1,232,500 contract that included a $76,250 signing bonus and $451,250 in guaranteed money.

· Linebacker Nicholas Morrow (Huntsville) signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Morrow signed a one-year, $1.155 million contract that included a roster bonus of $50,000.

· Defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches (Central-Phenix City) signed with the New York Giants. Nunez-Roches signed a three-year, $12 million contract that included a $4.3 million signing bonus and $7.465 million in guaranteed money.

· Defensive tackle Jarran Reed (Alabama) signed with the Seattle Seahawks. Reed signed a two-year, $9 million contract that included a $3 million signing bonus and $4.19 million in guaranteed money.

· Outside linebacker Malik Reed (Dothan) signed with the Miami Dolphins. Reed signed a $1,232,500 contract that included a $100,000 signing bonus and $750,000 in guaranteed money.

· Punter JK Scott (Alabama) re-signed with the Los Angeles Chargers. Scott signed a two-year, $4 million contract that included an $820,000 signing bonus, which is the guaranteed portion of the contract.

· Offensive lineman Trent Scott (Lee-Huntsville) signed with the Washington Commanders. Scott signed a two-year, $3.02 million contract that included a $305,000 signing bonus and $655,000 in guaranteed money.

· Wide receiver Cam Sims (Alabama) signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. Sims signed a one-year, $1,232,500 contract that included a $76,250 signing bonus and $301,250 in guaranteed money.

· Wide receiver Darius Slayton (Auburn) re-signed with the New York Giants. Slayton signed a two-year, $12 million contract that included a $3.5 million signing bonus and $4.9 million in guaranteed money.

· Tight end Irv Smith Jr. (Alabama) signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. Smith signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract that included a $400,000 signing bonus, which is the guaranteed portion of the contract.

· Cornerback Tremon Smith (Saks) signed with the Denver Broncos. Smith signed a two-year, $5 million contract that included a $1.4 million signing bonus and $2.5 million in guaranteed money.

· Quarterback Jarrett Stidham (Auburn) signed with the Denver Broncos. Stidham signed a two-year, $10 million contract that included a $2 million signing bonus and $5 million in guaranteed money.

· Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (Alabama) signed with the Cleveland Browns. Tomlinson signed a four-year, $57 million contract that included a $15.085 million signing bonus and $27.5 million in guaranteed money.

· Safety Jimmie Ward (Davidson) signed with the Houston Texans. Ward signed a two-year, $13 million contract that included a $4 million signing bonus and $8.5 million in guaranteed money.

· Linebacker Mack Wilson (Carver-Montgomery, Alabama) re-signed with the New England Patriots. Wilson signed a one-year, $1.6 million contract that included a $245,000 signing bonus and $575,000 in guaranteed money.

Nine other players with Alabama football roots would have become unrestricted free agents on March 15 but did not because they signed extensions to stay with their teams before their 2022 contracts expired. Those players were:

· Las Vegas Raiders running back Ameer Abdullah (Homewood) signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract that included a $200,000 signing bonus and $500,000 in guaranteed money.

· Chicago Bears fullback Khari Blasingame (Buckhorn) signed a two-year, $3.6 million contract that included an $850,000 roster bonus and $1.95 million in guaranteed money.

· Carolina Panthers center Bradley Bozeman (Handley, Alabama) signed a three-year, $18 million contract that included a $4.92 million signing bonus and $10 million in guaranteed money.

· Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) signed a three-year, $38 million contract that included a $7.985 million signing bonus and $20 million in guaranteed money.

· Detroit Lions defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs (Alabama) signed a two-year, $4.5 million contract that included a $1 million signing bonus and $2.1 million in guaranteed money.

· Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean (Auburn) signed a four-year, $52 million contract that included an $11.42 million signing bonus and $24.5 million in guaranteed money.

· New England Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones (Alabama) signed a two-year, $19 million contract that included a $7.5 million signing bonus and $13 million in guaranteed money.

· Minnesota Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens (Spain Park) signed a two-year, $4 million contract that included a $750,000 signing bonus and $1,922,500 in guaranteed money.

· New York Jets outside linebacker Quincy Williams (Wenonah) signed a three-year, $18 million contract that included a $4.5 million signing bonus and $9 million in guaranteed money.

Four other players with Alabama football roots qualified to become restricted free agents because they had three NFL seasons and an expiring contract. Two received qualifying offers from their 2022 teams and became restricted free agents, and two did not and became unrestricted free agents.

The New York Jets put a second-round tender on defensive end Bryce Huff (St. Paul’s Episcopal), and the Commanders put a right-of-first-refusal tender on safety Jeremy Reaves (South Alabama).

The tenders carry salaries of $4.304 million for Huff and $2.743 million for Reaves. The players can negotiate with other teams until April 21. If they get a better offer, their current club has the option to match it. In Huff’s case, if the Jets decline to do so, they get a second-round draft choice from the team that signs the pass-rusher.

Offensive lineman Chandler Brewer (Florence) did not receive a qualifying offer from the Los Angeles Rams and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an unrestricted free agent. Brewer signed a one-year, $1.125 million contract that included a $50,000 signing bonus and $150,000 in guaranteed money.

Center J.C. Hassenauer (Alabama) failed to receive a tender from the Pittsburgh Steelers and signed with the New York Giants after becoming an unrestricted free agent. Terms of Hassenauer’s deal have not been announced.

Another class of free agent is the exclusive rights free agent. A player with fewer than three NFL seasons and an expiring contract becomes an exclusive rights free agent. A player in this category who receives a contract offer from his current team cannot negotiate with other teams.

Broncos punter Corliss Waitman (South Alabama) was an ERFA, and he received an offer from Denver. But when the Broncos announced they had signed Rams punter Riley Dixon as an unrestricted free agent, they rescinded their offer to Waitman. Waitman then signed with the New England Patriots as an unrestricted free agent.

Waitman signed a one-year, $990,000 contract that included a $25,000 signing bonus, which is the guaranteed portion of the contract.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.