What will Eagles' Jalen Hurts' next contract look like?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The 2022 season was another tryout for Jalen Hurts to prove he's the franchise quarterback for the Eagles. He exceeded expectations by finishing as the runner-up for MVP and leading the Birds to the Super Bowl.
Hurts is the guy in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future, and he's eligible for a contract extension for the first time this offseason.
When speaking with the media following the team's Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs this week, Hurts said Tuesday it wasn't the day to speak about his looming contract.
But, his contract is one of the biggest storylines for the Eagles in what's expected to be a busy offseason.
Here's more on what Hurts' contract could look like:
What's the going rate?
In recent years, quarterback contracts have ballooned in the NFL.
So basically, any quarterback that is up for a contract extension, especially if they're a franchise guy, has a chance to reset the market.
Last year, six quarterbacks signed massive deals, including one that's already been released by his team and another that could be on the move.
- Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers: 3 years, $150.8 million
- Denver's Russell Wilson: 5 years, $242.5 million
- Los Angeles' Matthew Stafford: 4 years, $160 million
- Cleveland's Deshaun Watson: 5 years, $230 million
- Arizona's Kyler Murray: 5 years, $230.5 million
- Now free agent Derek Carr: 3 years, $121.5 million
Out of those six deals, Watson's is the anomaly. It's the only one that has $200-plus million fully guaranteed. The five-year deal set a record for the highest guaranteed money given to an NFL player.
Rodgers has the highest average annual value at $50.2 million. That also ranks first out of all quarterbacks in the NFL. All of the other five deals have an AAV that is $40 million or higher.
When you exclude Watson's contract, Wilson had the most money guaranteed at signing at $124 million. Only two of the contracts, Stafford and Carr, had less than $100 million guaranteed at signing.
Following Watson's guaranteed money, Murray had the second-most guaranteed at $189.5 million and Wilson ranked third at $161 million.
Who else is eligible for extensions?
The group of quarterbacks now eligible for contract extensions is a talented bunch.
It includes Cincinnati's Joe Burrow, Los Angeles' Justin Herbert, Miami's Tua Tagovailoa, Baltimore's Lamar Jackson and Hurts.
Baltimore's negotiations with Jackson have been ongoing with Jackson for quite some time now, and he might end up getting franchise tagged or even traded.
But, the Eagles would be wise to hop on the Hurts contract early ahead of other teams so they have the ability to set the market.
Speaking this week with reporters, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said he has a "good sense" of what they need to do to extend their 24-year-old signal caller.
It's set to be a busy offseason for Roseman, but he's been down this road before.
When Carson Wentz was eligible for a contract extension, Roseman hopped on it early and inked him to a four-year, $128 million contract in June of 2019, despite his history of injury concerns.
At the time, it was the largest guaranteed total in NFL history at $107.9 million.
In that deal, there was also a $16.3 million signing bonus, an average salary of $32 million and $66.6 million guaranteed at signing.
Four years later, the quarterback market has changed vastly as noted above.
Hurts will get much more money than Wentz, especially with the NFL salary cap reportedly going up to a record $224.8 million per team, which is a $16.6 million leap from the 2022 season.
Projections on Hurts' deal
Hurts set himself up to get paid this year after performing like one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
He's currently projected to earn a contract with an AAV of $44.2 million. That would make him the sixth-highest-paid quarterback per year in the NFL behind Rodgers, Wilson, Murray, Watson and Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes.
If that projection happens, Hurts would be making more per year than Buffalo's Josh Allen, Stafford and Dallas' Dak Prescott.
The projected deal would be six years, $265.3 million, which would kick in during the 2024 season and keep him in Philly until he's in his early 30s.
All contracts and projections are courtesy of Sportrac.com.
