Well, it is certainly well deserved after this past season. The Philadelphia Eagles have cemented Jalen Hurts as their franchise QB as they signed him to an extraordinary 5-year, $255M contract that makes him the highest paid QB in NFL history.
This is the kind of deal you get when you win competitive division titles, 15+ games (including playoffs) in a season, and fall just 3 points short of winning a Super Bowl.
The Eagles and GM Howie Roseman have made yet another fantastic decision as they just signed Jalen Hurts, who came into the year as the uncertain starter, to a record-breaking 5-year, $255M extension that’ll see him surpass Aaron Rodgers ($50.3M/season) as the highest earning QB/year ($51M/season). And it was the best decision the franchise could have possible of made.
Not only did Hurts lead the Eagles to its first 10+ win season since 2017, its first division title since 2019, its first NFC Championship game since 2017, and its first Super Bowl appearance since the 2017 victory, but he also did so while playing at an MVP level.
Yes, it’s true Carson Wentz was having a MVP-caliber season until his knee injury and Nick Foles, who came in as the backup during the final third of the season and the playoffs, had one of the greatest Super Bowl performances to upset the Patriots 41-33 enroute to his Super Bowl MVP award, but Jalen Hurts nearly did both in the same season.
Along with his incredible 3,701 passing yards, 22 passing TDs, 8 INTs, 66.5% completion percentage, 165 rushing attempts, 760 rushing yards, and 13 rushing TDs stat line, Hurts was named to his first Pro-Bowl, he made the All-Pro 2nd Team, he came second in MVP voting behind Patrick Mahomes with a sole 1st place vote (only he and Josh Allen received a 1st place MVP vote aside from Mahomes), and he would have been named the Super Bowl MVP if the Eagles won the game as he finished with a 71% completion percentage (27/38), 304 passing yards, 1 passing TD, 15 CAR, 70 rushing yards, and 3 rushing TDs.
Obviously, it would have been better (for Eagles and their fans) if he won the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl MVP award, but he was not the reason why the Eagles came up short 38-35 to NFL and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and his now 2X Super Bowl winning Chiefs team. In fact, he was the only reason why they almost won.
Nonetheless, the Eagles actually got a really good deal with this contract…despite it containing the highest-ever annual contract for a QB.
Hurts is only 24, he has just played three years in the NFL (so his body is not too banged up), and he’s now proven he can both lead his teams to tremendous regular season and postseason success.
Having to fork out $51M is perfectly fine considering the QBs around him, Browns’ Deshaun Watson ($230M), Cardinals’ Kyler Murray ($46.1M), and Bills’ Josh Allen ($43M), have never even one a Conference Championship game, let alone reaching a Super Bowl. I mean, it’s not like Hurts hasn’t proven himself like Watson and Murray and has been paid for relatively little on field production.
He brought the Eagles to a Super Bowl, which only two others (Ron Jaworski, Donovan McNabb) have done since the Super Bowl era!
Even if Hurts doesn’t win the Super Bowl within the lifetime of this deal, it’s still going to go down as one of the best moves in franchise history as they’re going to be competitive under Hurts’ reign for years to come.
Images Source: Featured Image:
