Jalen Hurts may be the NFL’s highest-paid player after signing a five-year, $255 million contract extension on Monday, but according to his cap numbers, he might also be the league’s biggest bargain.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the first four years of Hurts’ new contract remain very cap-friendly and should allow the team to surround their franchise quarterback with talented players.
Before signing the extension, Hurts carried a $4.7 million cap hit for 2023. Under his new deal, his cap number climbs to only $6.15 million next season. To put that in perspective, Tyrod Taylor will carry a $6.9 million cap number as Daniel Jones backup next year.
Hurts’ cap hit nearly doubles to $13.56 million in 2024, but by then high-paid veteran players like Brandon Graham and Jason Kelce may no longer be on the payroll. Even if they are, $13 million against the cap for a quarterback with Hurts’ credentials seems pretty reasonable, especially compared to Deshaun Watson’s $64 million cap hit for that season.
In 2025, Hurts’ cap number will jump to almost $22 million, but will still be almost $12 million less than Geno Smith’s number with Seattle and less than half of Derek Carr’s number with the Saints.
Hurts cap hit will reach nearly $32 million by 2026, which would seem like an astronomical sum if a player like Matthew Stafford, who’ll be 39 years old by then, wasn’t already on the books for more than $49 million that year.
Philadelphia hasn’t disclosed any financial details about Hurts’ contract and Schefter doesn’t reveal the source of his information. Hurts’ new deal runs through 2028, so it’s a bit curious why Schefter’s intel stops at 2026.
Of course, by then players like Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson should all have new deals that could make Hurts’ contract even more appealing.
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