2022 NFL Draft: Contract details released for Daxton Hill, Cincinnati Bengals
After being taken 31st overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2022 NFL Draft this past week, former Michigan safety Daxton Hill is about to get paid. The details from Hill’s rookie contract were released by Spotrac, along with every other player who was selected in the seven-round draft.
The Wolverines star is set to make a total of $11.6 million over the next four years, including a $5.6 million signing bonus. He will make a base salary of $2.1 million in 2022 and also has a fifth-year option for 2026.
Daxton Hill is the younger brother of Baltimore Ravens running back Justice Hill, who played his college days at Oklahoma State. Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Daxton Hill is set to join Bengals team that is coached by Zac Taylor, a fellow native of the Sooner State who attended Norman High School. Cincinnati is coming off of an appearance in the Super Bowl this past season, its third in franchise history.
“Daxton Hill has been a tremendous player for a long time,” Taylor said Friday according to The Wolverine. “He’s a great player coming out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He’s been at Michigan the last three years and has made a tremendous impact on one of the best defenses in all of college football. He played a lot of different roles for them. Everyone in that building speaks very highly of Dax — not only the play style but the intangibles.
“The stuff on the field, and the stuff off the field. As you guys know, that’s exactly the type of traits that we look for in our players. He embodies everything that we’ve searched to be about. We’re really excited that he was where he was last night in the draft and that we were able to get him at No. 31 and add him to the mix. He’s going to be a great weapon for us for a long time.”
Hill appeared in 33 career games at Michigan with 23 starts playing multiple roles in the secondary. He also contributed on special teams. He was an All-Big Ten honoree in 2021, racking up 69 tackles (4.5 for loss), 0.5 sacks, 11 passes defended, two interceptions and a forced fumble.
The Michigan product feels like the Wolverines football program and its head coach helped mold him into a pro.
“Coach Harbaugh had me prepared,” he said. “I appreciate it really now in retrospect, just seeing all the hard practices we did — it was kind of like a means to an end. I knew it was for a reason, and it was for this reason right now. So I definitely feel like he prepared me for this situation.”
On3’s Anthony Broome contributed to this report.