- Jalen Hurts agreed to a five-year $255 million extension with the Eagles that will make him the highest-paid player in NFL history.
- News of Hurts’ new deal sent bettors rushing to place wagers on Hurts to win the MVP award.
- Hurts is currently 4th in the latest BetOnline MVP odds board at +950 odds.
The Philadelphia Eagles could be ready to soar next season. After a breakout 2022 campaign where they made it all the way to Super Bowl LVII, the Eagles opened with the second-best odds at +700 to return to the Big Game and win it all next season.
Coming off a stellar year, QB Jalen Hurts opened 4th in the BetOnline MVP odds board at +950 odds and is the most popular MVP bet as of this writing.
Now that the Eagles have locked in Hurts for the next six years, the Eagles head to the OTAs ready to focus on securing the Lombardi.
Highest Paid Player in NFL History
According to a report from ESPN’s Tim McManus, the Eagles and Hurts agreed to a five-year $255 million extension on Monday.
The deal has a total guarantee of $179.304 million, including $110 million at signing, and $126.5 million fully guaranteed by March 2024. The deal also has a no-trade clause, which is the first time that the Eagles have ever added a contractual stipulation like this.
Hurts’ $51 million average annual value is the largest in the history of the NFL, putting him above the likes of Aaron Rodgers ($50.3 million), Russell Wilson ($49 million), Kyler Murray ($46.1 million), Deshaun Watson ($46 million), and Patrick Mahomes ($45 million).
Eagles and Jalen Hurts reached agreement on a five-year, $255 million extension, including $179.304 million guaranteed, per source.
Hurts becomes the highest-paid player in NFL history in a deal negotiated by Nicole Lynn of Klutch Sports Group and Eagles’ GM Howie Roseman. pic.twitter.com/DXG0ZWzsGJ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 17, 2023
The Eagles’ QB can earn an additional $15 million in incentives, giving him the opportunity to increase the value of the contract to $274.304 million dollars through 2028.
This includes the $4.304 million that he would have made during the last year of his rookie contract. For 2023, Hurts will get a signing bonus of $23.294 million and will make $64 million through the first year of the new contract in 2024.
The deal was negotiated by Klutch Sports’ Nicole Lynn, Hurts’ agent, and is believed to be the largest sports contract ever negotiated by a female sports agent. For the Eagles, they now have Hurts under contract for the next six years on a deal that preserves their financial flexibility to keep the team intact.
Jalen Hurts’ Rapid Ascent Continues
The new deal continues the rapid ascent that Hurts has taken since entering the NFL. He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft to be Carson Wentz’s backup.
When Wentz was traded to the Indianapolis Colts, the Eagles gave the keys to the car to Hurts. He led the team to a 9-7 SU record and a Playoff bid during the 2021 NFL campaign. That was impressive enough, but Hurts did not stop there.
He showed dramatic improvement this past season while leading the Eagles to a 14-3 SU record and the top seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Eagles lost to the Chiefs 38-35 at Super Bowl LVII but, despite the defeat, Hurts played like a franchise player and arguably deserved the Super Bowl MVP award despite losing the game.
Hurts’ 70 rushing yards and three rushing scores were both Super Bowl records for a quarterback. 45 of those yards came after contact and 10 of his 15 carries were either for a first down or a touchdown.
Hurts led all NFL QBs with 13 rushing touchdowns in the 2022-23 regular season. The only player with more TDs than Hurts was running back Jamal Williams with 17.
Running backs Austin Ekeler and Derrick Henry also finished with 13 rushing TDs but they played more games than Hurts who missed two starts due to a sprained sternoclavicular joint.
Hurts also passed for 247 yards per game with 22 passing touchdowns. He ranked 5th in the league among qualified starters with a passer rating of 101.5, one spot ahead of Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow who was 6th at 100.8.
Jalen Hurts secured the 💰 and #NFL bettors are rushing to bet on him to win MVP 😤👀#NFLTwitter #FlyEaglesFly #sportsbetting https://t.co/DQtZ53zprs
— BetFTW (@Bet_ForTheWin) April 17, 2023
Bettors are Rushing to Wager on Hurts to Win the MVP
Hurts getting the largest contract in NFL history is a clear indicator of how the league, not just the Eagles, view his value in the next six years.
Because of that, sportsbooks have been taking heavy MVP bets in favor of Hurts in the aftermath of his new contract. One of the top sportsbooks has even gone on record saying that Hurts is the most popular bet to win the 2023 MVP award.
Looking at BetOnline, Hurts is currently listed at +950 odds to win MVP honors next season. 2022 winner Patrick Mahomes opened as the odds on favorite and is currently listed at +550 to repeat as MVP this coming season.
Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, who led the Bengals to the Super Bowl two seasons ago, is next at +625. Buffalo’s Josh Allen, who opened as last season’s MVP favorite, is third at +650 odds.
Last season, Hurts opened at +5000 odds to win the 2022 NFL MVP award. Those odds shortened to -160 as he became the MVP favorite in December.
But after Hurts suffered the shoulder injury, the odd boards shifted in favor of Mahomes with Hurts dropping back to the second betting favorite. Mahomes would hold that spot until the end of the season. When it was time to vote, Mahomes won his second MVP award while Hurts finished second in the balloting.
Due to Tom Brady retiring after last season, and Aaron Rodgers likely heading to the Jets, Jalen Hurts easily becomes the best quarterback in the NFC this coming season.
With offensive targets like A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert still in tow, Hurts has a good chance of replicating his 2022 campaign, making him an early favorite among bettors to win the MVP award.
