The Carolina Panthers announced Thursday they signed running back Chuba Hubbard to an extension.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the deal is worth $33.2 million over four years with $15 million fully guaranteed.

Hubbard is the Panthers' leading rusher with 665 yards and five touchdowns though nine games.

Securing $30-plus million in the current market is a great piece of business for Hubbard and his agent. His total value is the sixth-highest among running backs, per Spotrac.

The devil could be in the details, though.

Josh Jacobs secured a four-year, $48 million contract from the Green Bay Packers in the offseason, and that's the biggest active deal for a running back. But it's structured in a way where the Packers can move on from the two-time Pro Bowler at any point after this season while absorbing a relatively minor cost.

The Panthers may have taken the same approach with Hubbard, especially when considering this extension comes only months after Carolina used a second-round pick on Jonathon Brooks.

Granted, this wouldn't be the first time the franchise displayed little long-term planning with its backfield.

One difference between now and when Miles Sanders signed in 2023 is that Dan Morgan wasn't running the front office. Morgan was the assistant general manager under Scott Fitterer, so it's an imperfect comparison between the Hubbard and Sanders contracts.

And again, a lot of focus might be going toward the full sum of Hubbard's contract when it effectively keeps him in Carolina for only another year or two. Perhaps the Panthers wanted to hedge their bets a bit until they see Brooks, who has been out while recovering from a torn ACL, in action.