CHARGERS REACH FIVE-YEAR, $262.5 MILLION EXTENSION AGREEMENT WITH QB JUSTIN HERBERT
Just three months removed from the record-setting Lamar Jackson contract extension on day one of the 2023 NFL Draft, another quarterback domino fell on Tuesday as the Los Angeles Chargers extended superstar quarterback Justin Herbert.
The new contract extension is a massive five-year, $262.5 million deal that sees Herbert reset the market as the highest paid quarterback in NFL history with an annual salary of $52.5 million. The 25-year-old becomes the latest quarterback to join the $50million-a-year club along with Jets’ Aaron Rodgers, Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and Ravens’ Lamar Jackson. After Hurts and Jackson, Herbert is now the third quarterback to get a deal done this offseason.
As per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the deal includes $218.7 million in total guarantees with Herbert slated to get $100 million in year one of his deal, topping the previous league high of $80 million set by Lamar Jackson’s deal. The 2020 sixth overall pick is one of the most talented passers in the NFL and is now set to stay with the Chargers through the 2029 season. Similar to Hurts’ and Jackson’s contracts, the new deal also includes a no-trade clause. The extension was done by Herbert’s representatives, Justin Schulman and Dave Dunn of Athletes First.
Herbert’s teammate and three-time Pro Bowl safety Derwin James was excited about the deal for his quarterback and said on Twitter, “Couldn’t happen to better a guy [he] deserve it all.”
The former Oregon Duck is arguably the most prolific quarterback in league history through his first three years in the NFL. Herbert has registered 14,089 passing yards, 102 total touchdowns and a total QBR of 64 since he got into the league in 2020, the most all-time for a quarterback in their first three seasons in the NFL.
Set up with new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore this year, Herbert is expected to take a step forward in 2023. The 25-year-old is surrounded with one of the best offensive pieces in the league in running back Austin Ekeler, tight end Gerald Everett, wide receivers Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and rookie first-round draft pick Quentin Johnston. Herbert will also have left tackle Rashawn Slater returning this season after the 2021 first-round pick missed most of last year with a ruptured biceps tendon.
With yet another record-setting deal in the quarterback market, it’s interesting to note that while the salary cap has grown 82.7% since its $123 million value in 2013, the quarterback salary has more than doubled in that time. Current Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was the league’s highest paid player on $22 million-a-year in 2013 and would now be the 19th-highest paid quarterback in the current market.
Eighteen quarterbacks in the NFL make over $22 million per year with 12 making upwards of $40 million, an unprecedented monetary value attached to one position in the league’s history. Saints’ quarterback Derek Carr was the highest-paid quarterback in the league in 2017, earning $25 million in annual average pay, a figure that wouldn’t even crack the top 15 in the league today.
Of all the quarterbacks who aren’t on their rookie deals and are expected to start in 2023, only Seahawks’ Geno Smith, Raiders’ Jimmy Garoppolo, and Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield earn an annual salary of $25 million or lower.
Justin Herbert’s new deal isn’t only record-setting for players at the position but also for the Chargers’ organization. The new extension means at some point in the last three years, the Los Angeles Chargers have had the highest-paid non-quarterback in edge rusher Joey Bosa, the highest-paid safety (Derwin James), the highest-paid center (Corey Linsley), and now have the highest-paid quarterback.
Now that Herbert’s extension is done and dusted, all eyes will now turn to the Cincinnati Bengals and their Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow, who has yet to sign a long-term extension.
Herbert’s new deal will also have implications in his division as Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes now drops to the eighth highest paid quarterback in the league on a per-year basis. The two-time Super Bowl MVP is now behind Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, and Deshaun Watson, and is expected to return to the negotiating table for a raise soon enough. Mahomes still has 9 years left on his 10-year, $450 million contract with the Chiefs.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.