Thursday, November 21, 2024
Sports

Predicting Jalen Hurts’ next contract with Eagles after Super Bowl run

The Eagles current Jalen Hurts contract expires after 2023, but after leading Philadelphia on a Super Bowl run, what will his next deal look like?

Even after last season, there were conversations had about how the Philadelphia Eagles could replace Jalen Hurts at quarterback, either immediately or down the line.

There are no more such questions.

Jalen Hurts finished second in NFL MVP voting behind only, incidentally, the man who beat him on Sunday night in Super Bowl 57, Patrick Mahomes. But when those conversations and questions were about, the thought of Hurts being capable of leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl, much less being on the precipice of winning in the game itself, seemed foreign.

He did it, though. And not only was that the case, but Hurts performed phenomenally. Yes, there was a costly first-half fumble that resulted in a scoop-and-score. In the context of him throwing for 304 yards on 27-of-38 passing while also leading the team in rushing with 70 yards, all while accounting for four touchdowns (three rushing, one passing), you can forgive that mistake.

Now the question has changed, though. Hurts is entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2023 and, as a former second-round pick, the Eagles won’t have the chance to exercise a fifth-year option. Instead, it’s time to talk new deal.

What exactly will the next Jalen Hurts contract look like, though?

Jalen Hurts contract prediction: What will Eagles QB’s new deal look like?

ESPN insider Dan Graziano (subscription required) recently explored the need for a new Jalen Hurts contract with Philadelphia this offseason and two things stood out. One, Graziano projected that the way the quarterback performed this season likely has pushed his deal into something with an annual average value (AAV) of $50 million or more. That would put Hurts in a league that, currently, only Aaron Rodgers is a part of.

Currently is an operative word there, however. The other thing worth noting is that both Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, though the Bengals and Chargers have the flexibility of a fifth-year option working in their favor, could be eyeing new deals soon too. The same is true of pending free agent Lamar Jackson. And if the Eagles don’t sign Hurts first, the price could go up further.

With the way Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman has operated in his position, though, these are certainly things he’s well aware of. So I would expect, especially with Hurts entering a contract year, that the Jalen Hurts contract becomes a priority this offseason.

As for the deal itself, the Super Bowl run is only further leverage for Hurts to truly cash in, even if it could still end up as a value for the Eagles in short order with more big-money contracts coming. That’s why I’d put a prediction for the Hurts contract at something in the range of five years, $252.5 million.

I don’t expect the Eagles and Roseman, particularly with how poorly the Carson Wentz extension worked out the last time they were in a similar situation, to be willing to match something like the fully-guaranteed Deshaun Watson contract, but it would not be surprising to see something like four years worth of the deal (though with guarantees spanning the length of the contract), which is roughly $202 million, to be guaranteed.

Now we’ll have to see how quickly the Eagles act on this. Make no mistake, though, Hurts has earned it and there should be urgency on the part of the organization to get a deal done.

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