NEWSLETTER
If a 14-3 record, an MVP-caliber season, and a trip to the Super Bowl weren’t enough evidence that Jalen Hurts is the future under center in Philadelphia, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie cleared up any doubt.
Lurie said Hurts has nothing left to prove to earn an extension with the Eagles during opening night at the Super Bowl this week.
“I don’t think he has anything to prove [to be the long-term answer at quarterback],” Lurie told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio at the Super Bowl’s opening night. “He is an MVP-caliber quarterback, an incredible leader of the team on the field, off the field. He’s 24 years old, incredibly mature and, most importantly, driven to be even better. What we’re seeing today I think is just the beginning for Jalen. This guy will attack every weakness as he has since high school, since college. The future is bright and very exciting for all of us.”
Lurie called Hurts an MVP-caliber quarterback and said that what we’ve seen so far is just the beginning for Hurts. Hurts has one year left on his rookie deal and is now eligible for an extension.
Hurts is set to make a base salary of $4.2 million in 2023, according to Spotrac. I imagine Hurts will demand money in the ballpark of the recent quarterback contracts we’ve seen. In contracts recently signed by Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, Deshaun Watson, and Aaron Rodgers, the average AAV is $45 million.
However, Lurie isn’t interested in talking about numbers right now:
“We’ll kind of handle that later on,” Hurts said when asked about Lurie’s comments. “Get there when we get there.”
Over the Cap has Hurts’ valuation at $38.3 million. OTC has Patrick Mahomes at $ 47.7 million, Josh Allen at $45.6 million, and Joe Burrow at $44.0 million. Burrow, like Hurts, is eligible for an extension this offseason. Mahomes is amid a 10-year, $450 million contract extension. Josh Allen is playing on a six-year, $258 million contract extension signed in 2021.
So, Mahomes ($45.0 million) and Allen ($43 million) are in the ballpark of their OTC valuation regarding AAV. Both are making a little less than their OTC valuation.
Hurts’ extension will come in a tick higher than this OTC valuation as far as yearly money is concerned. However, $40-41 million seems a good number for imagining what the AAV on what a Hurts extension would look like. At 24, a six-year deal seems like a definite, if not longer. So, somewhere in the ballpark of six years, $246 million seems like a solid projection.
