What Jalen Hurts' extension means for Bengals and Joe Burrow
The first domino has fallen for the quarterback class of 2020. Following an incredible season that resulted in a Super Bowl appearance, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has agreed to a five-year, $255 million contract that will make him the highest-paid player in NFL history. Until another quarterback like Joe Burrow surpasses him. With Burrow […]
The first domino has fallen for the quarterback class of 2020.
Following an incredible season that resulted in a Super Bowl appearance, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has agreed to a five-year, $255 million contract that will make him the highest-paid player in NFL history.
Until another quarterback like Joe Burrow surpasses him.
With Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals now in talks of a new extension, Hurts' new average annual value of $51 million, and fully guaranteed figure of $110 million become the thresholds for the Bengals to end up matching.
The positive for the Bengals is that Hurts' deal is not 100% guaranteed like Deshaun Watson's $230 million contract. About 70% of Hurts' deal ($179.3 million) includes guarantees, but less than half will be fully guaranteed before the second year of the deal.
This structure falls in line closer to Russell Wilson ($49 million AAV) and Kyler Murray's ($46.1 million AAV) recent contracts than it does with Watson's deal. Wilson received $165 million in total guarantees with $124 million fully guaranteed, while Murray ended up at $160 million and $103.3 million, respectively.
It's always been expected for the Bengals to offer a deal exceeding $50 million AAV. Aaron Rodgers was the previous standard at $50.27 million, and the salary cap's consistent increase made for an inevitable increase in market value. But if Burrow was in a position to command a fully guaranteed deal like Watson, the club could've ran into issues.
Hurts becoming yet another example of why Watson's contract is an outlier will help the team in negotiations. They will be more than happy to offer Burrow a deal that exceeds Hurts' $51 million average. The length and exact guaranteed figures will be the main hurdles both sides need to overcome.
“Obviously, at the end of the day, it’s what Joe wants," Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn said last month at the NFL owners meetings. "And so I think Joe’s got to be happy, and we’ve got to be happy. And hopefully, we can be happy together.”
Hurts is now the floor for Blackburn and the Bengals to overcome with Burrow. If they wait until after Justin Herbert agrees to terms with the Los Angeles Chargers, a new floor will have been created.
But the idea of guaranteeing every penny of Burrow's contract does appear to be dead.
