It wasn’t exactly a hometown cut. When you become the highest paid player in NFL history, the word “reduction” doesn’t really apply.
But Jalen Hurts has agreed to a structure in his blockbuster new contract that gives the Eagles the flexibility to build around him over the next few years.
It’s one thing to have a franchise quarterback under contract for the next half-decade. But if you’re so crippled by the implications of the salary cap that you can’t provide enough talent around it to win, then what’s the point?
Dave Zangaro wrote last week about the relatively manageable caps for the first four years of Hurts’ contract, which runs until 2028.
While we don’t yet know exactly what the background to the deal looks like, the five-year, 5 million deal carries caps of 0.15 million in 2023, 0.56 in 2024, 0.77 in 2025 and 0.77 in 2026. .
Whereas the Eagles’ adjusted cap for the coming year is 4,179,264 and OverTheCap expects the NFL’s unadjusted salary cap to increase to 6 million next year, 2 million in 2025 and 8 million in 2026 , you see the buying power of Howie Roseman.
Hurts’ cap figure never exceeds 10% of the Eagles’ unadjusted cap figure through 2026. previous year – are still higher than the unadjusted figure.
Now, Hurts’ cap count in 2027 and 2028 will be huge — likely more than a million each year if the Eagles don’t eventually restructure the deal — but Roseman has had huge success throwing the box on the road, and there’s no reason to think it’s going to end now.
On Monday, Hurts explained why he accepted a contract which, unlike Deshaun Watson’s, is not fully guaranteed and includes low initial caps and base salaries.
“I think you look at all the big teams – and I won’t go into too much detail – but you look at all the big teams and all the big players, and it takes a village, it takes a village,” he said. -he declares.
“In my first three years, playing with different guys that I’ve been around, we have something special going on, and we all want to do it for a long time. So it was important for me to take that approach with She.
The Eagles still want to build through the draft, but low-cap numbers give Roseman room to sign free agents and expand other valuable players, which in turn helps Hurts as he tries to lead the Eagles to a championship.
“As individuals on the team, we want to keep growing,” Hurts said. “We are stronger together when we fly together.”
Hurts has actually said he has mixed feelings about the new contract, which means he’s so focused on working, learning and improving that he’s not totally comfortable. even to talk about a contract worth a quarter of a billion dollars.
“I want to win,” he said. “I want to win. I know this is a building full of hungry individuals who are willing to do whatever it takes to win and I’m grateful to have paved this way.”
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