Breaking Down Jalen Hurts' $255M Extension

Michael Ginnitti
Michael Ginnitti, Managing Editor & NFL/MLB ExpertApril 25, 2023
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The Philadelphia Eagles made good on their offseason promise, locking in QB1 Jalen Hurts to an historic 5 year, $255M contract extension this week. The deal keeps Hurts under contract through the 2028 season, and includes $110M fully guaranteed at signing.

 

New Money Total Value

The $255M of new money chimes in as the 3rd largest contract in NFL history, behind Patrick Mahomes $450M unicorn extension in Kansas City, and Josh Allen’s $258M contract from the Bills. When factoring in $15M of additional incentives, and the $4.304M Hurts was owed in the final year of his rookie contract, the deal can max out at nearly $275M over the next 6 seasons.

Largest New Money NFL Contracts

  1. Patrick Mahomes, $450M
  2. Josh Alen, $258M
  3. Jalen Hurts, $255M
  4. Russell Wilson, $242.5M
  5. Kyler Murray, $230.5M

RELATED: TOP NFL CONTRACTS

Including Deshaun Watson’s $230M contract with the Browns, Hurts’ deal becomes the 6th contract in NFL history to offer $200M+.

Small Signing Bonus?

Hurts’ $23,294,000 signing bonus ranks 35th among active contracts, 13th among active QB deals. Why so low? The Eagles, as per usual, have structured this contract with multiple early March bonuses that can/will prorate over a maximum 5 years for cap purposes, and keep the cash flowing for Jalen every offseason. But it still means less Year 1 money than most would anticipate for a Super Bowl runner-up quarterback.

Largest Signing Bonuses (VIEW ALL)

  1. Dak Prescott, $66M (franchise tag extension)
  2. Matthew Stafford, $60M (veteran extension)
  3. Russell Wilson, $50M (veteran extension)
  4. Deshaun Watson, $44.965M (veteran extension)
  5. Aaron Rodgers, $40.8M (veteran extension)

11th: Jalen Hurts, $24.3M (rookie extension)

Guarantee at Signing

Jalen Hurts’ new deal comes with $110M fully guaranteed at signing, 3rd most in NFL history and by far the most ever for a rookie extension.

Top Guarantees at Signing (VIEW ALL)

  1. Deshaun Watson, $230M (veteran extension)
  2. Russell Wilson, $124M (veteran extension)
  3. Jalen Hurts, $110M (rookie extension)
  4. Kyler Murray, $103.3M (rookie extension)
  5. Aaron Rodgers, $101.5M (veteran extension)

Hurts out-gains Murray by almost $7M in terms of upfront guarantee, with Josh Allen’s $100M the next rookie extension figure to compare to.

Practical Guarantees

What’s the difference? Guaranteed at signing means just that - the second Jalen Hurts signs this contract, it’ll be nearly impossible for him not to earn the $110M fully guaranteed. The remaining $69M is guaranteed for injury at signing, but will soon become fully guaranteed. Specifically, another $16.5M will lock in next March, an additional $30.8M will fully guarantee in March 2025, and another $22M will follow suit in March of 2026. 4.5 of 6 years are practically guaranteed.

Top Practical Guarantees (VIEW ALL)

  1. Deshaun Watson, $230M (veteran extension)
  2. Jalen Hurts, $179.3M (rookie extension)
  3. Russell Wilson, $161M (veteran extension)
  4. Kyler Murray, $159.7M (rookie extension)
  5. Aaron Rodgers, $150.8M (veteran extension)

In looking just at the Hurts/Murray matchup, Jalen secures almost $20M more than Kyler with this latest blockbuster extension, and based on team success alone - rightfully so.

Salary Cap Analysis

With multiple bonuses, comes early cap relief for the Eagles - as per usual. Jalen Hurts’ contract carries the following cap hits as of now:

2023: $6.154M
2024: $13.55M
2025: $21.76M
2026: $31.7M
2027: $45.8M
2028: $54.1M
2029-2032 Void Years ($8.16M of initial dead cap, plenty more to come)

Hurts' $6.15M cap hit for 2023 currently ranks 20th among signed Quarterbacks. Any QB drafted in the Top 5 this April will carry a larger cap figure than Jalen Hurts for 2023. If the league salary cap increases its usual $10M up to $235M next season, Hurts will account for just 5.7% of it. If it jumps to $245M in 2025, he'll account for 8.8% in that season. To say these are value figures out of the gate would be an understatement.

Cash Flow Analysis

Year 1: $24.3M
Year 2: $40M
Year 3: $42M
Year 4: $51M
Year 5: $51M
Year 6: $51M

Hurts’ $64.3M 2-year cash ranks 10th among active Quarterback contracts, but is actually $30M more than Patrick Mahomes secured through his first two extension seasons. In terms of 3-year money, the $106.3M to be earned here currently ranks 8th, $11M more than the Bills are handing Josh Allen to start his extension. Only 4 quarterbacks have contracts with more 4-year cash than Jalen Hurts: Watson, Wilson, Prescott, & Daniel Jones - though the last two aren't guaranteed to get that far.

Potential Out & Fluid Dead Cap Warning

Don’t get sucked into thinking that the Eagles can walk away from Hurts after 2026 with just a slap on the wrist to their cash and cap pocketbooks. It’s not that simple.

The dead cap that appears on the contract right now only applies to elements of the deal that are fully guaranteed at signing ($110M + the carry over signing bonus proration from the rookie contract).

By the time we get to March of 2027 (presumably when the two sides could be looking to part), another $49.785M option bonus will have vested (adding $39.9M of bonus dead cap), & $22M of 2027 salary will already have become fully guaranteed. That’s an additional $61.8M of dead cap, raising the 2027 total to $106.5M.

What about after 2027? $89.702M of dead cap
What about when the deal concludes after 2028? $86.5M of dead cap

Concluding Thoughts

It’s easy to get caught up in the “how do we get out of this” conversation almost immediately when dealing with major contracts, but this Jalen Hurts contract should be celebrated for what it is: A ton of money for the player, and 6 years of predetermined tenable salary cap hits for the team. If the Eagles do absolutely nothing to this contract but exercise the option bonuses and let things play out as they will, a $54.1M cap hit in 2028 most likely won’t even represent 20% of the league salary cap that season. Philly’s style of contract structuring bakes the “restructure” into the cake. The room to wiggle comes with the option bonuses themselves. If at any point in time the team feels concerned about the future of Hurts as their starting QB, they can opt to decline one of those bonuses, take on an absurdly large base salary/cap hit for a year, and then push out of the contract, despite what will certainly be a devastating dead cap hit in the following season.

The best case scenario here (again, veering positive not negative), is that Hurts continues to shine in the role, and after 2026, he and the Eagles decide to rip up the remaining $102M, and convert it into a new, bigger, better, more complicated contract for all to enjoy. Keeping in mind of course that all of those vested bonus prorations in 2027-2030 will need to carry over to the new deal as well.


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