Eagles extend LT Jordan Mailata

Eagles Extend LT Jordan Mailata

EAGLES REACH SIGNIFICANT THREE-YEAR, $66 MILLION EXTENSION WITH LT JORDAN MAILATA

   The Philadelphia Eagles have reached an agreement on a new extension with seventh-year left tackle Jordan Mailata, as first reported by Adam Schefter. 

   The new deal is a three-year, $66 million extension that keeps the Australia-born offensive lineman in Philadelphia through the 2028 season. According to Schefter, the new deal includes up to $48   million in guaranteed money and a massive $20 million signing bonus.

   Mailata’s annual average salary on the new deal is set at $22 million, which trails only Texans’ four-time Pro Bowl LT Laremy Tunsil ($25 million), Giants’ All-Pro LT Andrew Thomas ($23.5 million) and 49ers’ eleven-time Pro Bowl LT Trent Williams ($23 million). The 27-year-old has now signed two contract extensions in Philadelphia and gets rewarded again after an impressive three years since he signed his previous deal. Mailata last signed a four-year, $64 million deal in 2021.

   A seventh-round pick from the 2018 NFL Draft, Mailata is a testimony to the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program and the success a player born outside the United States can have in the game even without prior football experience. Mailata spent his youth in Australia playing professional rugby before officially making the transition to football just two months ahead of the 2018 draft.

   At 6-foot-8, 365-pounds, Mailata has been an imposing figure on the Eagles’ offensive line since dealing with a nagging back injury during his first two seasons. It took the Bankstown-born offensive lineman until 2020 to play his first down of professional football when he replaced injured rookie Jack Driscoll in Week 1 against the Washington Football Team but Mailata hasn’t looked back since.

   The New South Wales native went on to start 10 games in 2020 and was eventually named the full-time starting left tackle by Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni ahead of the 2021 season. Mailata has gone on to make 47 starts in the past three years, and averages nearly 16 games a season. One of the more robust and reliable tackles in the league, the Aussie has been frequently described by the media as a human “wrecking ball,” a name that is befitting his playing resume in the past four years. 

   Mailata’s new deal is the latest move in what’s been a busy offseason for the Philadelphia Eagles. The team has made a few significant deals along the offensive line in the past month, including the signing of two-time Pro Bowl guard Landon Dickerson to a four-year, $84 million extension last month, and the announcement of the official retirement of future Hall of Fame center Jason Kelce as the 36-year-old called time on an illustrious 13-year career.

   One of the most respected executives in the NFL, Philadelphia General Manager Howie Roseman has now signed five big-time players to significant contract extensions in the past month. Roseman signed coveted free agent and former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal, former New York Jets DE Bryce Huff to a three-year, $51 million deal, and former Detroit Lions DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to a three-year, $27 million deal in free agency.

   Alongside Mailata, the Eagles also re-signed CB Avonte Maddox and S Reed Blankenship on one-year deals this week. The team then traded veteran pass rusher Haason Reddick to the New York Jets in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in 2026 that can convert to a second-round pick that year.

-Maher Abucheri

Twitter: @pabloikonyero

Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.