Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is reportedly in line for a bumper new contract with the organisation next summer.

Jalen Hurts had something of a unique path to the NFL. Having started off at the University of Alabama he was able to win the starting quarterback role as a freshman, the first time that a freshman had done so at Alabama since 1984 and was able to help guide them to the College Football Playoff Final where he and the Crimson Tide lost a close game to Deshaun Watson and the Clemson Tigers.

Next year was another one of success as he again helped guide the team to a College Football Playoff Final, but was benched in favour of Tua Tagovailoa at halftime. He remained the second choice throughout the whole of the 2019 season before transferring to Oklahoma for his final season in college football.

That season wasn’t as successful as he and the Sooners could only make the semi-final of the College Football Playoff before succumbing to Joe Burrow and the LSU Tigers, the quarterback that he would finish 2nd behind in voting for the Heismann Trophy. 

He would eventually finish his college career with 9,477 passing yards and 80 touchdowns whilst also showing prowess with his feet as he added 3,274 rushing yards and 43 touchdowns.

Those numbers saw him taken in the 2nd round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, but his path to being a starter wasn’t straightforward there either. 

A rocky road in Philly

Having started off as the team’s 3rd string quarterback behind Carson Wentz and Nick Sudfeld, he was able to work his way up to being the team’s starter by the end of the year, but even that involved a little bit of controversy, as in the final week of the season he was benched in favour of Sudfeld, only for the Eagles to go on an lose, something which drew a lot of discussion in the aftermath: 

This past season though he was able to take back his place in the starting lineup and performed rather well, with 3,928 total yards through the air and on the ground and 26 total touchdowns, taking the Eagles to the playoffs where they ultimately fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the opening round.

And it seems as if his displays last year might have opened the door for him to stick around for a little bit longer.

Hurts to be the long-term hero?

According to a report from Eagles reporter Eliot Shorr-Parks, Hurts is set to be in line for a bumper contract extension with the team next offseason, and by bumper, we really mean bumper in terms of how much money he could stand to get:

When you put that number up against a lot of the other quarterbacks around the league, it would make him one of the highest-paid, which seems a little strange considering what he’s been able to produce so far, which hasn’t exactly been bad, but not the numbers that have blown up the league and would match a salary like that.

It will be interesting to see what this season brings in terms of performance from Hurts, and how that might force the Eagles to change their thinking when it comes to his new deal.