Jalen Hurts made a strong case for a big-money extension with his 2022 breakout as both an MVP candidate and Super Bowl starter. And now the Eagles have compensated their face of the franchise, agreeing Monday to extend the quarterback on a new five-year deal worth a reported $255 million. The extension ties Hurts to Philadelphia through 2028 at a record $51M per year, resetting the always-lucrative QB market and making the 24-year-old Pro Bowler the highest-paid player in NFL history.
We know Hurts' deal is historic, being that it's set a new standard for QB earnings ahead of the 2023 season. But how does it compare to the Eagles' other QB contracts of the last 20 years?
Philly prides itself on prioritizing the position even when it's unpopular, notably drafting Hurts when it had just given his predecessor a lucrative deal. So has the team ever come close to paying another QB like this? Here's a look at all the second contracts the Eagles have issued at the position since the turn of the century:
| Year | QB | Length | Total | APY | APY Rank (QBs) | Guaranteed | Age | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Jalen Hurts | 5 years | $255M | $51M | 1st | $179.3M | 24 | 4th |
2019 | 4 years | $128M | $32M | 4th | $66M | 26 | 4th | |
2016 | 2 years | $35M | $17.5M | 21st | $22M | 28 | 7th | |
2011 | Michael Vick | 6 years | $100M | $16.6M | 4th | $36M | 31 | 7th |
2010 | 1 year | $12.3M | $12.3M | 10th | $12.3M | 25 | 4th | |
2002 | Donovan McNabb | 12 years | $115M | $9.6M | 1st | $20M | 25 | 4th |
You can see immediately some trends: most of the second contracts the Eagles have issued at the position have come when the player is entering his fourth season, and in most of those cases, the player is getting top-five money among QBs.
Now, it's obvious in retrospect that not all of these deals panned out. Kolb, for example, was championed by then-coach Andy Reid as the successor to McNabb, only to fall victim to injury and quickly surrender QB1 duties to Vick. As for Vick, who earned his lucrative payout with a career revival in 2010, he later renegotiated his deal, which proved to be more like a five-year, $80M pact, after injuries forced backup -- and future Super Bowl champion -- Nick Foles into the lineup. Bradford, meanwhile, received mid-tier money after his Eagles debut, only to be traded months later to clear the way for Wentz. And Wentz's early peak, as an MVP candidate during the 2017 Super Bowl run, came before his extension; he was already traded and replaced by Hurts in 2021.
All that to say, it's clear that Hurts, who was merely Wentz's backup three years ago, is the Eagles' biggest investment at QB since McNabb, who remains the most accomplished QB in team history. Though McNabb later renegotiated his deal, which proved to be more like a six-year, $67M pact, he became the NFL's highest-paid player at the time of signing. Fresh off an NFC Championship Game appearance in 2002, McNabb went on to appear in three more NFC title games for the Eagles, as well as a Super Bowl.
