Jalen Hurts is fresh off the best season of his young career, and with the incredible gains he made, he’s set to make Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson level money.
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Hurts was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2020 NFL draft. At the time, picking Hurts seemed surprising. The Eagles had MVP candidate Carson Wentz who was still performing well, and Hurts had been benched in college. Why were the Eagles wasting a pick on a position they didn’t really need?
He received opportunities to play in his first year, playing in four games, but he was very limited and raw. However, the talent was there. You could see that there was something special brewing underneath.
The next year, Hurts became the Eagles’ full-time starter as the team moved on from Carson Wentz. Philly tried to operate as a pass-first team initially, but it wasn’t working for them.
Then, taking advantage of Hurts’ rushing ability, they transitioned to a run-first team and took the NFC by storm. Hurts would lead the Eagles into the playoffs as a Wild Card team, solidifying his role as a starter for years to come. This season proved that.
There’s never been a performance like it.
Literally.@RoobNBCS takes a look at some of Jalen Hurts’ statistical achievements in Super Bowl LVII:https://t.co/S3FAFRHR4W
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) February 15, 2023
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Jalen Hurts could receive a deal better than Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson
Hurts passed for 3,701 yards, 22 touchdowns, and just 6 interceptions this year. He also tacked on 760 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns, tied for second in the league.
All that work resulted in the Eagles’ Super Bowl berth where Hurts played out of his mind. In the game, aside from one fumble, he was mistake-free. He threw for 304 yards on 27/38 passing with one touchdown while adding 70 yards on the ground on 15 attempts with 3 touchdowns.
He was unstoppable. The Eagles did lose, but you can’t blame the loss on Hurts at all. He did everything he could to put his team in a position to win, and in the end, a couple of plays didn’t go the Eagles’ way, and they lost.
Now, Hurts is set to get paid. The highest-paid quarterbacks in the league are Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, Deshaun Watson, and Patrick Mahomes. All of these quarterbacks have an average salary above $45 million. Now, Hurts may be seeing that kind of money and more. Here’s the latest update on where his contract could go.
A big payday is imminent for Jalen Hurts this offseason 💰
“North of $45 million. To me, that’s the starting point, and it may not even be close.” —@AdamSchefter pic.twitter.com/0LhkdvPOEZ
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) February 15, 2023
Hurts’ contract could very well reach the $50 million+ mark, and if it does, it wouldn’t even be surprising. He’s only 24 years old, and he’s shown he can be a Super Bowl MVP. The Eagles are set for a long run of dominance if Hurts can keep up his play, and he’ll be more than inclined to with some extra money in the bag.