Jalen Hurts Gets 5 Year $225 Million Extension

Eagles Quarterback Jalen Hurts agreed to a 5 year contract extension this morning.

The extension, first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, and confirmed by the team, is reportedly worth $225 million, with $179.304 million of that guaranteed. The deal makes Hurts the highest paid player in NFL history.

The deal also reportedly includes a no-trade clause, which is a first in Eagles franchise history.

Throughout the offseason, the Hurts contract extension was a major point of interest for Eagles fans. Hurts would’ve been on the final year of his rookie contract this year, but after leading the Eagles to an appearance in Super Bowl LVII and being an MVP candidate in his second year starting under center, talks of a contract extension were inevitable.

After the season had concluded, Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman indicated that the team was pursuing a contract extension with Hurts.

“Obviously we want to keep our best players here for the long term. And he’s certainly one of our best players,” he said then. “We’d definitely like to keep Jalen Hurts here long term.”

Eagles Owner Jeffrey Lurie also addressed Hurts’ performance during the last few season at the NFL Annual Meeting at the end of March, and was impressed mostly with the character that Hurts demonstrated.

“He’s 24 years old. Honestly, I don’t know if I’ve ever met somebody that mature at age 24,” Lurie observed. “I’d like to think I have – my son (Julian) is 27, he’s very mature – no, Jalen is the most mature 24-year-old I’ve ever come across.”

The extension also influenced how the Eagles approached free agency, as the team would not have had cap space to keep players knowing that the franchise quarterback was due for a pay raise.

Players like Andre Dillard (T), TJ Edwards (LB), Javon Hargrave (DT), and Isaac Seumalo (G) all received multi-year contracts worth tens of millions of dollars. Hargrave’s in particular was worth $84 million over four years, the highest of the group of departures to date. The Eagles did not have the cap space to retain all of these players, in part due to the looming spectre of Hurts’ contract extension.

Still, Hurts has definitely earned his extension. After having been drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft in the second round, the future starter sat behind beleaguered quarterback Carson Wentz during the 2020 NFL season, but started several games during that season after Wentz was benched due to poor performance. After that season, Wentz was traded to the Indianapolis Colts and the Hurts era began. He went through the 2021-22 season with a 61.3% completion rating, going 265 for 432 for 3,144 passing yards and netted a passer rating of 87.2. He had 16 passing touchdowns and just nine interceptions. He also ran 139 times for 784 yards during that first season, and led the team to a playoff appearance where they lost to the Buccaneers in the Wild Card round.

In the 2022-23 NFL season, Hurts showed significant improvement on the field with a 66.5% completion rating, going 306 for 460 for 3,701 yards and netting a 101.6 passer rating during the regular season. He also continued to be a ground threat, rushing 165 times for 760 yards. He improved his decision making skills, throwing just 6 interceptions during the regular season. This performance landed the Eagles with the number 1 seed in the 2022-23 playoffs and led the team to Super Bowl LVII.

The Hurts era will continue now through at least 2028, where he’ll have a chance to bring Philadelphia a Lombardi Trophy of his own.