PHILLY FRONT OFFICE

Becoming the highest paid DT in the NFL has been Jalen Carter‘s destiny since he was first drafted by the Eagles. Now it becomes a reality by signed a 4/$152m (up to $160m) contract extension. This blows past the deal recently signed by Justin Simmons of 3/$105.8m in terms of total value, average value ($38m – $40m), and total guarantee ($106m). Jalen Carter is that kind of special talent. Now let’s look at the deal.

Contract

The first thing you need to know is that this is not really a 4/$160m deal. It is probably closer to a 5/$187m deal because it includes his 5th year option of $27m. If you looked on any of the cap sites yesterday, the Eagles salary cap for next year had the big ole $27m written in for Carter in 2027. That’s gone now but not forgotten. Instead, it is prorated over the next 5 years of the deal, costing just a little over $5m per season.

The total guarantee of $106m will likely consist of this year’s $3m in cash, next year’s $27m, the signing bonus, all of his 2028 compensation, and possibly a little more depending on how they split this up. We are still waiting on the signing bonus part of this, but we can assume it is probably around $40m. You can also expect all the usual Howie bells and whistles like Option Bonuses and Void Years. These are all used to keep the annual salary cap hits down. By my preliminary calculations and without knowing many of the variables for sure, I have the hits as follows:

2026 – $7m

2027 – $15.5m

2028 – $21.5m

2029 – $27.5m

2030 – $33.5m

Those may seem kind of large but remember that the salary cap is going up and up and up.

The NEXT Biggest NFL Contract: Defensive Tackle

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Some people claimed that the Eagles were hesitant to give Carter this deal because it wasn’t signed on Day 1 of the league new year. It should have never been in doubt for several reasons.

1. By getting Carter with the #9 pick in the 2023 Draft, it was a gift. Coming off a Super Bowl appearance you are not supposed to be in position to draft an elite talent like Carter. Yet he fell to them. You do not let that kind of good fortune go forsaken. No possible trade for however many number of picks likely gets you anywhere near a talent like Carter.
2. He doesn’t show it all the time, but Carter is someone who can absolutely wreck a game despite being double teamed. If anyone ever questions him, I recommend they go watch the end of the 2024 Divisional Round game against the Rams in the snow. There’s no Super Bowl parade if Carter doesn’t take over on the last two plays.
3. The Eagles pay their great players. It is as simple as that, they pay great not “just good.”

Fit

With every new huge Eagles extension, people get worried over whether the Eagles will have to make some tough decisions in the future. I refer them to the 3rd point above. Because they only pay for greatness, they do not have any cap killing “just good” contracts on the books. I planned this all out in a previous post, but the Eagles will not have trouble paying Carter now, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean next year, and give out fat extensions for DeVonta Smith, Jordan Mailata, and Jalen Hurts in the future. The Eagles have planned for this.

Can the Eagles Sign Everyone?

That being said, players like Nolan Smith, Moro Ojomo, and possibly Jalyx Hunt will likely join Reed Blankenship and Milton Williams as very good players who make their big paychecks on someone else’s team. That’s how this team stays financially stable and agile.

I’ll have more when the real numbers come out

Photo: Getty Images