Player Information
Samuel Baker was born on May 30, 1985 and graduated from Tustin (CA) High. He started 13 games at left tackle as a redshirt freshman, earning 2nd team All-Pac-10 honors and registering 74 knockdown blocks. As a sophomore, he earned the first of 3 consecutive 1st team All-Pac-10 honors as well as 3rd team All-America honors. He had 103 knockdowns, 12 touchdown-resulting blocks, and allowed only 1 sack. He was a 1st team All-American as a junior with 109 knockdowns, 14 touchdown-resulting blocks, and 2.5 sacks allowed. As a senior, he had 88 knockdowns, 12 touchdown-resulting blockers, and allowed 2 sacks. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round (21st overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Career Statistics
| Year | Team | G | GS |
| 2008 | ATL | 8 | 5 |
| 2009 | ATL | 14 | 14 |
| 2010 | ATL | 16 | 16 |
| 2011 | ATL | 12 | 6 |
| 2012 | ATL | 16 | 16 |
| TOTALS | 66 | 57 | |
Transactions
Signed by Atlanta Falcons on July 25, 2008 ... Re-signed by Falcons on March 12, 2013.
Contract details
Terms of his rookie contract with the Falcons were undisclosed ... Signed a six-year deal in 2012 worth $41.1 million. It included $18.5 million in guaranteed money, factoring in his his first two years of base salary (combined $4.25 million), $10 million signing bonus, and a 2014 option bonus of $4 million. The deal contains escalators worth $3.9 million which could push the maximum value of the contract to $45 million. His base salaries are: $1 million (2013); $3.25 million (2014); $4.25 million (2015); $5.25 million (2016); $6.5 million (2017); $6.6 million (2018). His signing bonus is prorated over five years per CBA rules, giving him cap hits of: $3 million (2013); $6.05 million (2014); $7.05 million (2015); $8.05 million (2016); $9.3 million (2017); and $7.4 million (2018).