DeVonta Smith's contract extension signals Eagles' forward-thinking strategy
The Philadelphia Eagles extended wide receiver DeVonta Smith's contract on Monday, signing the former 2021 first-round pick to a three-year, $75 million deal with $51 million guaranteed. It's not very common for former first-round picks, who are not quarterbacks, to sign an extension after just three years in the league. In fact, according to former NFL agent […]
The Philadelphia Eagles extended wide receiver DeVonta Smith's contract on Monday, signing the former 2021 first-round pick to a three-year, $75 million deal with $51 million guaranteed.
It's not very common for former first-round picks, who are not quarterbacks, to sign an extension after just three years in the league.
In fact, according to former NFL agent and current contract expert, Joel Corry, Smith is the first wide receiver to get one since the Los Angeles Rams signed 2013 first-round pick Tavon Austin to a four-year, $42 million extension in 2016.
Why's it so uncommon, you ask?
Because teams like the Eagles are taking a risk by signing a young player earlier with a chance of injury or a poor performance looming.
Other teams who choose to wait until after that fourth year know exactly what they're getting in a player by then and thus it's less risky.
The Eagles did it with quarterback Carson Wentz back in 2019, which ultimately backfired because he was benched in Week 13 of the 2020 season and then traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 2021.
But the longer you wait to sign a star player like Smith, the more expensive they become.
So, while the Eagles are taking that risk with Smith, they're actually doing it at a bargain rate because by the time high-end receivers like CeeDee Lamb and Justin Jefferson, sign their new contracts this offseason, the wide receiver market value will reset and $25 million per year will look like a genius move.
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