Worth Every Penny
The first major quarterback domino fell Monday morning, and it was the news Eagles fans had been waiting to hear. The Eagles were able to lock up Jalen Hurts on a five-year $255 million contract that keeps the fan favorite in Eagles green through 2028. The move was bound to happen, but now that it is officially done, it feels like a massive weight is lifted off the shoulders of the Eagles and its fans. Hurts has proven he is a franchise quarterback, and the contract was not only the right move, but it was also the only move to make. Hurts needed to stay an Eagle.
The contract makes Hurts the highest-paid player in NFL history, for now. The annual average value for Hurts is $51 million, with incentives to make more. The quarterback market is constantly fluctuating, and there will be another contract down the line that tops Hurts’, but the main point is the Eagles have their future locked up; that is what matters. The deal includes a full no-trade clause which signals the Eagles’ belief in Hurts to be their guy for years to come.
At the end of the day, Howie Roseman could have handed Hurts a blank check, and Eagles fans would not have complained. What Hurts has done in just two full years as a starter is mind-blowing. He took a team that looked to be heading in the completely wrong direction back to the playoffs, then the Super Bowl, and gave the city and fans something to look forward to.
In just his second season as the full-time starter, Hurts turned himself into one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. Hurts accounted for 35 touchdowns this past season on his way to leading the Eagles to the number-one seed in the NFC. The Super Bowl may not have gone the way we wanted it to, but one observation was clear as day when watching the big game, Hurts is a big-time quarterback and is up there as one of the best in the league. The money he received reflects that.
In the devastating Super Bowl loss, Hurts racked up nearly 400 total yards of offense and accounted for four touchdowns, three on the ground and one through the air. It was hard to swallow at the moment, but as time slowly drifted away from that game, looking back, it is obvious Hurts played one of the best games of his career.
Now locked in and under center for the foreseeable future, there is one goal left, get back and win the Super Bowl. You have the main piece under contract, and that is all that matters. The Eagles needed to keep Hurts in midnight green; there was no other option. Getting his contract done with the face of the team is a huge sigh of relief and allows Roseman to now focus on the draft, which is less than a week away.
Featured Image: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
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Categorized:Eagles