Inside The Huskies

Elijah Molden Signs His NFL Contract, Makes Dad Happy

Defensive back joins former UW teammates Joe Tryon and Levi Onwuzurike as wealthy men.

Dan Raley

Elijah Molden Signs His NFL Contract, Makes Dad Happy
Elijah Molden Signs His NFL Contract, Makes Dad Happy /

Elijah Molden signed his rookie contract with the Tennessee Titans on Thursday, just days before training camp begins, which at the very least will put his father more at ease.

The former University of Washington nickel back, a third-round draft pick in April, was photographed in Nashville completing the paperwork on a deal worth $4.78 million over four years, according to Over the Cap. 

Recently, his dad Alex, a former NFL cornerback, confided to Titans media that he was still paying for his son's cell phone and car insurance. 

"He doesn't have money," Alex Molden said at the time. "He may front like he has money, [but] he has to sign his contract."

No longer. 

Molden, who was taken with the 100th pick, is the third UW player taken in the recent draft to sign a multi-million-dollar contract in becoming new NFL players, all one-time defensive teammates who last played together in the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl. 

Edge rusher Joe Tryon, a first-rounder and the 32nd pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, earlier accepted a four-year, $11.1 million contract, which includes a $5.4 million signing bonus. He receives a base salary of $660,000 for the upcoming season.

Defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike, a second-rounder and the 41st pick for the Detroit Lions, became $8.1 million richer over four seasons upon signing, accepting a $3.3 million signing bonus.

Molden was a two-time, first-team All-Pac-12 selection for the Huskies in 2019 and 2020, while Onwuzurike, who opted out last season, was first-team All-Pac-12 in 2019, and Tryon, another opt-out, was second-team All-Pac-12 in 2019. 

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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