The Ravens have signed star Kyle Hamilton to a historic contract extension through 2030, rewarding one of the NFL’s best defensive players with the richest-ever contract for a safety.

Hamilton’s deal, which general manager Eric DeCosta announced Wednesday, is worth $100.4 million over four years. The deal reportedly includes $82 million guaranteed, far surpassing the previous record for a safety ($45 million), and is worth $25.1 million annually. Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph’s average annual value of $21.3 million was the previous high at the position.

DeCosta said negotiations between the team and Hamilton’s representatives started to pick up about three weeks ago. Hamilton was already under contract through 2026 after having his fifth-year option exercised in April.

“I think the deal really does speak to how we feel about Kyle,” DeCosta said. “Highest-paid safety in the NFL — that’s a responsibility that we don’t take lightly. We’ve had a few players over the years become the highest paid at their position, and I think, when you are the highest paid, that’s an important distinction. And I think Kyle has proven that he’s going to carry that very well, and we expect him to continue to be an impact player on our defense for years to come."

Hamilton, a two-time All-Pro, has quickly established himself as one of the NFL’s most transformative chess pieces. According to Pro Football Focus, Hamilton played at least 280 defensive snaps in the slot, in the box and as a deep safety last season, lending Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr uncommon schematic versatility. “A unicorn,” DeCosta called him.

The 6-foot-4 Hamilton’s unique skill set — he can cover bigger tight ends and smaller wide receivers in man coverage, recognize passing concepts in zone coverage, destroy blocks as a run defender and even win as a pass rusher — has made him almost as important to the Ravens’ defense as quarterback Lamar Jackson is to their offense.

“He does everything,” former Ravens pass game coordinator and secondary coach Chris Hewitt said. “He covers, he blitzes, he tackles. There’s nothing that kid can’t do.”

In 2023, the Ravens had one of the NFL’s best defenses when Hamilton was on the field — and one of the worst when he was off it. In 2024, during a topsy-turvy year for the pass defense, the Ravens allowed a passing touchdown on just 3.8% of their drop-backs with Hamilton playing and a staggering 9.6% on the 56 drop-backs he missed, according to Sports Info Solutions.

After early-season issues last fall with safeties Marcus Williams and Eddie Jackson, Hamilton’s partnership with Ar’Darius Washington helped stabilize a leaky secondary and earned him NFL Defensive Player of the Year votes. DeCosta said the midseason move allowed the Ravens to put other members of the defense in better positions.

“I think our coaches did a phenomenal job last year of making adjustments as well, and I think guys stepped up,” he said. “And I think you’ll see that continue as we get going into the regular season this year.”

In 48 career games, 36 of them starts, Hamilton has recorded 250 combined tackles, seven sacks and five interceptions. Ravens secondary coach Chuck Pagano, who’s coached for almost two decades in the NFL, compared Hamilton’s processing ability to that of legendary Ravens safety Ed Reed.

“They’re out there, and they’re not thinking about our calls,” Pagano said Tuesday. “They’re not thinking about our scheme. ... Right now, where he is at in the phase of his football life, what he’s doing, he’s diagnosing the situation. He knows the down and distance. He knows the personnel group that’s in the huddle. He can see and recognize a formation. So he’s one step ahead.”

Hamilton’s arrival in Baltimore was as surprising as his early struggles with the team. Widely considered one of the top prospects in the 2022 NFL draft, Hamilton fell to the Ravens at No. 14 overall because of concerns about his long speed.

Eleven picks later, DeCosta drafted center Tyler Linderbaum, another franchise cornerstone who’s eligible for a contract extension. DeCosta said negotiations are “ongoing” with Linderbaum, a two-time Pro Bowl pick who’s entering the final year of his rookie deal.

“Not everybody makes it,” coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday. “You don’t hit on all your picks, and you certainly don’t hit on all your first-round picks.” Later, he added: “And here we are today.”

Success did not come easily for the precocious Hamilton. As a rookie, he went viral on social media after losing badly in a one-on-one training camp repetition against undrafted wide receiver Bailey Gaither, who’s never played an NFL snap. Hamilton didn’t play more than half of the Ravens’ defensive snaps in a game until Week 8 of his rookie year.

“I knew that I came to the right place,” Hamilton said Wednesday. “I think that’s how God just works sometimes, you know? You’ve got to see the bigger picture. ... I really feel like I’ve been kind of molded into the player I am today by them [the Ravens], and it goes to show why this organization is the way it is.”

Hamilton’s made history with every step of his evolution in Baltimore. In 2023, he finished with the most tackles for loss (10) by an NFL safety and the most by any defensive back in Ravens single-season history. He also became just the sixth NFL defensive back to record three sacks in a game since 2000. Last year, Hamilton became the 10th Ravens defensive back since 2000 to post at least 12 tackles in a game and the first since 2011 to record at least 10 tackles and one pass defense in three consecutive games.

Hamilton, a beloved teammate and unofficial team spokesman in the locker room, said he’s checked “a lot of boxes” throughout his football career. He was a star recruit in high school and a consensus All-American at Notre Dame. Now, though, he’s fixated on winning a Super Bowl.

“As a team, as an organization ... we’re not trying to wait anymore,” Hamilton said. “I want to get greedy with that. I want to do that now, as soon as possible.”

This article has been updated.

Baltimore Banner editor Brandon Weigel contributed to this report.