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Former Oklahoma C Creed Humphrey Signs Record Contract Extension

The former Sooners star extended his deal with the Kansas City Chiefs to become the highest-paid center in NFL history, which is another notch in OU's belt as OLU.

John E. Hoover

Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey
Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
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An Oklahoma legend just got paid, and the Sooners’ reputation as O-Line U just got another bump.

Creed Humphrey, who played center at OU under Bill Bedenbaugh from 2018-20 and was a two-time Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year, reportedly signed a massive contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday that made him the highest-paid center in NFL history.

The four-year extension locks him to the Chiefs through 2028 and is worth $72 million in all, including $50 million guaranteed.

Humphrey, 25, was a second-round pick out of OU in the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s been voted to two Pro Bowls and has helped lead the Chiefs to two Super Bowl victories in his three NFL seasons.

Earlier Thursday, it was reported that former Sooners tackle Trent Williams was closing in on a new deal with the San Francisco 49ers that would make him the NFL’s highest-paid offensive lineman — again.

Williams, 36, has been selected to 11 Pro Bowls and is a three-time All-Pro selection. In 2021, he signed a six-year, $138.06 million contract with the Niners that made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in football. His new deal apparently will put him back at the top of the NFL’s list of top-paid blockers.

When Williams got his original contract with the 49ers, he supplanted another Sooner atop the list of the league’s highest-paid o-linemen.

In 2019, former OU tackle Lane Johnson signed a four-year, $72 million contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles, with $54.595 million guaranteed, that made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL at the time.

Currently, Johnson’s $20 million a year ranks tied for ninth among all NFL offensive linemen, while Williams’ $23.01 million per year ranks fourth behind Detroit’s Penei Sewell ($28 million), Houston’s Laremy Tunsil ($25 million) and the Giants’ Andrew Thomas ($23.5 million). Only Sewell is ahead of Johnson among NFL right tackles, according to AZ Central.

Bedenbaugh, who arrived at OU in 2013, didn’t coach Williams (who played at OU from 2007-09 before becoming the fourth pick in the 2010 NFL Draft), or Johnson (who was a Sooner from 2009-12 before he was the fourth pick in the 2013 draft).

But Bedenbaugh has coached Humphrey and more than a dozen other OU offensive linemen who have plied their college success into an NFL careers. He also frequently gives (and receives) accolades on social media from his former players and others.

Bedenbaugh on Wednesday received a verbal commitment from one of the top-rated players in the 2025 recruiting class. Offensive tackle Michael Fasusi of Lewisville, TX, is a consensus 5-star prospect and a top-five tackle in the nation. 

Fasusi is OU’s highest-rated o-line commit in the last 25 years and if he signs with the Sooners would be ranked No. 1 by recruiting services among Bedenbaugh’s OU pupils.

On Wednesday, Pro Football Focus revealed that Sooners Tyler Guyton and Walter Rouse were the NFL’s top two rookie offensive linemen so far during the 2024 preseason. Guyton was a defensive lineman, tight end and backup tackle at TCU but became a two-year starter for Bedenbaugh, while Rouse was a four-year starter at Stanford but was intent on becoming a neurosurgeon before spending the 2023 season with Bedenbaugh. 

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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