Cowboys safety Malik Hooker has agreed to a three-year contract extension that is worth up to $24 million, the team announced. The deal includes $16.5 million guaranteed and an $8 million signing bonus due within the next 15 days.
"Malik is... I remember when he came to us in training camp [2021] and getting going coming off the injuries, and once he was able to get himself healthy, he's been so consistent," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said at training camp in Oxnard, California on Saturday. "So impactful. He carries a lot of weight in the locker room. He's extremely respected by his teammates, and he's an incredible football player. You see the range that he has and his ball skills...He's an exceptional athlete that does a great, great job commanding the back end for us."
Hooker is the third defensive back the Cowboys have extended this offseason. The team recently came to terms with cornerback Trevon Diggs on a five-year, $97 million extension that will keep the former first-round pick in Dallas through the 2028 season. They also re-signed safety Donovan Wilson to a three-year, $21 million contract just before the start of free agency back in March.
"I'm always about signing your own players," McCarthy said. "To me, that's the most important component of free agency that exists. Any time as a coach that you sell your players on buying into the program, buying into the process, and then the ability to have them for a second contract, that's what breeds the continuity and the consistency that we're all after. I think it's great when we're able to sign our current players back to another contract."
A former first-round pick, Hooker spent his first five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. While he was a good player when healthy, Hooker dealt with injuries throughout his time in Indianapolis.
Hooker has largely been able to stay healthy, however, since joining the Cowboys in 2021. He's played in 31 games with nine starts for the Cowboys while helping Dallas capture two playoff berths. Hooker recorded a career-high 62 tackles last season and matched his career high with three interceptions.
A native of New Castle, Pennsylvania, Hooker played collegiately at Ohio State. During his final season in Columbus, Hooker picked off seven passes while helping the Buckeyes clinch a berth in the College Football Playoff.
In Dallas, Hooker is part of a defense that finished fifth in the NFL in points allowed last season. The Cowboys also finished eighth in the league in passing yards allowed and ninth in third down and red zone defense.