Jalen Hurts on Monday got a contract extension from the Philadelphia Eagles, which led to many comparisons to Lamar Jackson’s situation.
Jackson has been in a stalemate with the Baltimore Ravens over his contract. The Ravens have offered Jackson multiple deals, but he has been turned them all down, reportedly because he wants a fully-guaranteed deal, similar to the one Deshaun Watson received from the Cleveland Browns.
With each quarterback deal that goes by, Watson’s deal seems more and more like a fluke.
Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray and Hurts have all since signed new QB deals. None of them received fully-guaranteed deals, which is what Jackson is holding out for. Wilson is second in the amount guaranteed at signing with $124 million, which is still far short of Watson’s $230 million. Hurts received $110 million fully guaranteed at signing.
Even the deal Hurts got from Philly is very similar to the one the Ravens offered Jackson in September.
Total value
Hurts: $255M
Jackson: $250M
Guaranteed at signing
Hurts: $110M
Jackson: $133M
Guaranteed for injury
Hurts: $179.3M
Jackson: $175M
Jalen Hurts' 5-year contract extension with the Eagles looks very similar to the offer that Lamar Jackson turned down in September (which was reported by @AdamSchefter and @mortreport):
Total value
Hurts: $255M
Jackson: $250MGuaranteed for injury
Hurts: $179.3M
Jackson: $175M— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) April 17, 2023
There is a difference. Hurts just completed his third season in the NFL, so the contract kicks in now and replaces two years where the Eagles would have had him playing for below market value. Comparatively, Jackson had completed four seasons in the NFL when he received his offer. So Philly bought out one extra below-market year.
Hurts is slightly younger than Jackson, has had fewer injuries, and just finished second in NFL MVP voting while taking his team to the Super Bowl. But Jackson is still holding out for much more fully-guaranteed money than Hurts signed for.
