Jalen Hurts is the highest-paid player in NFL history at $51 million per season, yet even that isn't quite what the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback could have received. Hurts had an opportunity to seek out fully-guaranteed money when working with the Eagles on his $255 million contract extension -- similar to what Deshaun Watson received with the Cleveland Browns.
Hurts wasn't pursuing that kind of deal. He looked at the bigger picture,
"Money is nice," Hurts said Monday when discussing his contract extension. "Championships are better."
Hurts is the highest-paid player in the NFL in terms of average annual salary, earning $51 million a season. The Eagles franchise quarterback received $179.304 million guaranteed -- the second-largest guaranteed money to a player in NFL history.
The deal included $110 million fully guaranteed at signing the contract and $126.5 million fully guaranteed to the quarterback by March of 2024. Hurts also has a signing bonus of $23.294 million for the 2023 season, giving him financial stability with the Eagles for the next six seasons.
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While the financial details are impressive, Hurts gave the Eagles financial flexibility to build a talented team around him throughout the duration of his contract. That was important for Hurts, who seeks to win championships over the life of the deal.
"You look at all the great teams around here (the NFL), but you look into all the great teams and great players -- it takes a village," Hurts said. "Just playing around the different guys that I've been able to play around, we got something special going on.
"We all wanna do it for a long time. That was important for me to take my approach with it."
Even with financial stability, Hurts isn't going to change who he is because the Eagles paid him. The Eagles paid Hurts because he's committed to the game of football and the goal of -- in his words -- being the best version of himself.
"There is no arrival. There is no point where I have arrived," Hurts said. "This is not an arrival point. This is just a stop in the journey. The journey continues and for us what we want to accomplish as a team.
"I have mixed emotions right now. I am grateful, I am thankful -- but I'm just so hungry. The hard work continues and the fire continues to burn time and time again."
