What We Learned from Jalen Hurts’ Record-Breaking Contract Extension

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PSF) - Fly, money fly! On the road to victory! Wait, that’s not how the song goes. While we may still be in the thick of the NFL offseason, the Eagles faithful very well may start making a parody to “Fly, Eagles Fly!” after quarterback Jalen Hurts cashed in with a historic contract extension this week.

According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the Eagles and Jalen Hurts agreed to terms on a 5-year, $255 million contract extension that makes him the highest paid player in NFL history.

Now that the deal is officially signed, sealed, and delivered, here’s what we learned from it:

Bet on Yourself

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Jalen Hurts’ football story and journey is truly remarkable. From being the starting quarterback at Alabama, to being benched in the national championship game, having to transfer to another school, being labeled as a “gadget guy” when he was drafted, to now being the highest paid player in NFL history. You can write a book or shoot a movie with Hurts as the protagonist. Two things that have stayed constant in Hurts’ career thus far: his mental toughness and belief in himself. No matter what anyone has said about him, he continues to prove the doubters wrong with his one-of-a-kind work ethic. Historically, Hurts has only gotten better every year he has played football, with his mental toughness and belief in himself being the two biggest reasons why. Hurts is already an inspiration to many, and will continue to be as he keeps writing his own legacy as the face of the Philadelphia Eagles organization.

Hurts Has Already Proved That He Can Win a Super Bowl

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When deciding to either pay or not pay your quarterback, the one thing you need to know is if they can win you a Super Bowl or not. Thankfully for the Eagles, even though they did lose in this year’s Super Bowl 38-35 to the Kansas City Chiefs, they already know that Hurts is capable of bringing them to the promise land and winning them a championship. Aren’t sold on this? Well, Hurts is the youngest quarterback to have a completion percentage over 70 in a Super Bowl, the youngest quarterback to throw for 300 yards without an interception in a Super Bowl, and the youngest with four total touchdowns in a Super Bowl. Hurts’ 70 rushing yards are a Super Bowl record, six more than Steve McNair of the Titans had vs. the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV. Hurts played the best game of his career thus far on the world’s biggest stage, if it wasn’t for a late hold against cornerback James Bradberry, he would have already been deemed a Super Bowl champion too.

The Eagles Continue to Be a Forward Thinking Organization

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When the Eagles first drafted Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the previous offseason they signed former quarterback Carson Wentz to a four-year contract extension through the 2024 season. Wentz is currently a free agent. Safe to say the Eagles made the right choice in drafting Hurts even with Wentz extended at the time. At first when Hurts was drafted, many scratched their head and questioned the decision, but not General Manager Howie Roseman. Roseman had a plan and vision at the time if things went South with Wentz, which they did, and his plan was executed to perfection with the blossoming of Hurts. This is what Roseman is known for, thinking ahead of everyone else in order to achieve and sustain future success. No wonder he is one of, if not the best General Manager in the sport. He is playing chess, not checkers. In fact, now with Hurts locked up, Roseman was ahead on signing his franchise quarterback before the Baltimore Ravens with Lamar Jackson, Cincinnati Bengals with Joe Burrow, and Los Angeles Chargers with Justin Herbert. A few years down the road, this deal will ultimately look like a bargain, which will make Roseman smile from ear to ear.

Credit to Nicole Lynn

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Most, if not all of the time when record breaking contracts are signed in professional sports, all of the credit goes to the player. While credit certainly deserves to be given to the player, the same, if not more should be going to Hurts’ agent in Nicole Lynn. For starters, Lynn became the first Black woman to represent a player in the Super Bowl when Hurts and the Eagles played in Super Bowl 57. Not only this, but Hurts’ deal is also believed to be the largest deal completed by a female agent in sports history. Just like Hurts, Lynn has also been doubted in her career as no woman has ever negotiated a contract like this before in the sport. In fact, Lynn became Hurts’ agent after direct messaging him on Instagram after his college career ended. The duo share the same vision with chips on both of their shoulders, as they officially have made history together.

The Pressure Only Increases for Hurts

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As the old saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. With Hurts now being paid as the highest quarterback in the league, he must consistently prove season over season over his five-year contract extension that he is in fact a top five quarterback in the league coming off of a runner up MVP season. The hardest part about this will be as the years and salary cap hit only get higher year over year, less pieces to support Hurts will be around him. This is where Howie Roseman’s excellent drafting comes into play, but that is beside the point. This past season, we saw Hurts with the best roster in the league around him. We will not see that going forward as he will eat up the majority of the cap space as that is just the nature of the quarterback market in today’s NFL landscape. The only knock I have on this contract is the lack of consistency Hurts has shown in his career thus far. While he has improved every year, he has not consistently played as a top five MVP candidate quarterback yet. I’m not saying that because I don’t believe he can play like that, because I do, but regardless the Eagles had to pay him, and they did. Now the question becomes if Hurts can live up to the contract and keep improving as one of the best quarterbacks in the league.