The Green Bay Packers and nose tackle Kenny Clark agreed to an extension, the team announced Sunday. It is a three-year, $64 million extension, a league source confirmed. Clark, who is now under contract through 2027, will get $29 million in 2024.

NFL Network was the first to report the news.

Clark, 28, was entering the final year of his contract. He led the team in 2023 with nine tackles for loss (tied for a career high) and set a career best with 7.5 sacks. Another productive season earned him his third Pro Bowl nod. Clark played a pivotal role on an interior defensive line that combined for 17.5 sacks and 24 tackles for loss last season.

He entered the league when the Packers drafted him 27th in the 2016 NFL Draft. Through eight seasons in Green Bay, Clark has 216 solo tackles and 34 sacks. He missed only one game in the last three seasons. Clark joins Henry Jordan as the only Packers defensive tackles to make three-or-more Pro Bowls.

Clark was one of the Packers players eligible for an extension. Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love, who threw for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2023, is entering the final year of his contract and eligible to sign an extension.

The Packers finished 9-8 in 2023, before losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round.

Significance of Clark’s extension

Clark is the longest-tenured player on a team that has undergone widespread transformation since the departure of quarterback Aaron Rodgers. According to Over The Cap, Clark’s new average annual salary of around $21.3 million ranks only 12th among interior defensive linemen.

It’s a raise from $17.5 million per year for the three-time Pro Bowler.

Under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, Green Bay has preached sacks, tackles for loss and perhaps created more havoc in the backfield than it did under former coordinator Joe Barry. Nobody has proven more capable of doing that in the middle of the defensive line than Clark, so this new deal is not only a reflection of what Clark has done but also what the Packers expect and need him to do in the future. — Matt Schneidman, Packers beat writer

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