The fascinating history of Eagles quarterback contracts
It really wasnt all that long ago that the Eagles gave Donovan McNabb the biggest contract in NFL history.
It was the fall of 2002, and McNabb was coming off a third straight Pro Bowl and a second straight NFC Championship Game performance.
That deal was worth $7.8 million per year.
MORE: How Eagles know their investment is protected with Hurts
Jalen Hurts new contract is worth $51 million per year.
Even accounting for inflation, that $7.8 million per year in 2002 equals about $13.1 million today.
Quarterback contracts are increasing exponentially, but while Hurts five-year, $255-million contract makes him the highest-paid player in NFL history, he wont be for long.
Whether it’s Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson or someone else, Hurts’ reign as the highest-paid player in history will probably be brief.
We thought it would be fun to take a look at Eagles quarterback contracts throughout the years. Contract figures are impossible to find before the mid-1970s. Newspaper accounts before that barely mentioned contracts and never included dollar amounts.
That was long before free agency. Things have changed. A lot.
Ron Jaworski
After getting traded from the Rams for Charle Young, Jaws signed his first Eagles contract in April of 1977, and it was a five-year deal worth $800,000. No, not per year. Total. Thats $160,000 per year. That was a huge raise over the $27,000 he made in 1976, his final year with the Rams.
Whats interesting is that when talks between the Eagles and Jaworskis agent Steve Deutsch broke down, Jaworski himself jumped into negotiations.
Steve did a hell of a job, but they reached an impasse, Jaws said back in April of 1977. I wont say I negotiated my own deal, but I did finalize it.”
In the summer of 1981, after Jaws led the Eagles to the Super Bowl, they tore up the final year of his contract and gave him a five-year deal worth $2 million.
This makes my future pretty solid here in Philadelphia, Jaws said. You can see my wife and two daughters behind me. Well, football is pretty important when it comes to taking care of these people.
Jaws was 35 when he signed his final contract with the Eagles during training camp in 1986. It was a four-year deal worth about $2 million for four years, but he only played one year of that contract before he was released.
Randall Cunningham
Jaws was still here when the Eagles drafted Cunningham in the second round in 1985. His rookie contract was worth $800,000 for three years.
During 1988 training camp, Cunningham signed a three-year, $4.1 million deal that made him the highest-paid player in Eagles history at $1.4 million per year, but just over a year later, the night before Cunningham engineered a historic comeback win against Washington at RFK Stadium, Cunningham and the Eagles agreed to a five-year, $18 million contract in GM Harry Gambles hotel suite at the Crystal City Marriott in Arlington, Va. The $3.6 million average at the time was highest in NFL history, supplanting Bernie Kosars $2.5 million average.
Its not a big deal, Cunningham said after the game. I dont let things worry me. If I sit back and let an argument or Im in negotiations or Im having a bad game, if you let that bother you, its going to dwell on you for a long time.
Ty Detmer and Rodney Peete
The Eagles signed Peete to a one-year, $750,000 deal before the 1995 season and then after he led the Eagles to a playoff win after Cunningham got benched, they gave him a two-year deal worth $3.5 million a year later. Detmer got a two-year, $1.7 million before the 1996 season.
Bobby Hoying
After the Eagles drafted Hoying out of Ohio State in the third round in 1996, he got a three-year, $907,500 deal. That wound up being his only Eagles contract.
After his promising 1997 season, the Eagles offered Hoying a three-year extension worth $10 million, but he turned it down. He bet on himself and lost.
Asked while he was struggling in 1998 if he regretted that decision, he said, Not at all. This isnt about money. Never has been.
He never threw another touchdown pass.
Doug Pederson
In February of 1999, two months before they drafted Donovan McNabb, the Eagles signed Pederson to a three-year, $4,6 million contract. He won two games and was released. He did somewhat better as a coach.
Donovan McNabb
McNabbs rookie contract was worth $11.3 million over seven years, but in September of 2002 – early in Year 4 of the deal – the Eagles tore it up and gave McNabb a historic, NFL-record nine-year, $70.5 million deal that included $20.5 million in guarantees and made McNabb the Eagles latest highest-paid player in NFL history.
It means a lot, McNabb said. You see great players, Hall of Fame players, that didnt stay with their team. To know that I will stay in Philadelphia is a wonderful feeling for me and my family.
In June of 2009, the Eagles restructured McNabbs contract, which still had two years remaining, and replaced it with a two-year, $24 million extension. Ten months later, he was in Washington.
Jeff Garcia
Garcia signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal with the Eagles to back up McNabb before the 2006 season. Garcia and McNabb had one big thing in common both were hated by T.O., who the Eagles had jettisoned the previous year.
Obviously, youd turn on ESPN and you couldnt watch it without seeing T.O., Garcia said. It was ESTO. I felt bad for the Eagles and everybody that was involved. Its really a shame because it should have never become a mockery like that.
Garcia went 5-1 in six starts with the Eagles and won a playoff game against the Giants.
Kevin Kolb
The Eagles drafted Kolb 36th overall in 2007 and just before training camp he signed a four-year, $2.5 million contract.
Im pumped, Kolb said. It was getting down to the wire and I think everyone was getting a little antsy. I hope the Eagles are as excited as I am.
He only won three games in four seasons with the Eagles before finishing his career with the Cards and Bills.
Michael Vick
When the Eagles first signed Vick during 2009 training camp, they gave him a one-year, $1.6 million deal with a club option of $5.2 million for 2010.
But in the summer of 2011, after Vicks Pro Bowl 2010 season, the Eagles gave him a five-year, $80 million deal with $35.5 million guaranteed, the 5th-largest deal in history to that point.
It was the second massive contract of Vicks career. With the Falcons, he signed a 10-year, $130 million deal late in the 2004 season. But he never saw most of that money, wound up in federal prison and didnt play football in 2007 or 2008.
I used to sit in my prison bunk and be like, $100 million, youll never see that again, Vick said.
Vince Young
The Eagles signed Young to a one-year, $4 million deal after the 2011 lockout ended. You might remember his press conference at Lehigh.
Dream team!
A few days later, he explained the comment: Basically, what I meant is we do really have a talented bunch of guys. And I really feel like if we continue working and finish where we want to finish, we can be where we want to be.
Nick Foles
Foles only played three years of his four-year, $8.2 million rookie deal before Chip Kelly traded him to the Rams. When he returned in 2017, he got $16 million over two years.
Every quarterback wants to eventually have the opportunity to play again and be in the huddle, Foles said. But my role right now is to be the backup quarterback and help Carson any way I can.
He helped him. Helped him win a ring.
Mark Sanchez
Sanchez signed a one-year, $2.25 million deal in 2014 to back up Foles and then a two-year, $5.5 million deal a year later, although he only lasted one more year here.
Sam Bradford
Chip Kelly was the G.M. when the Eagles acquired Bradford from the Rams, and Bradford still had one more year left on his rookie contract. But Howie Roseman was back in power in May of 2016 when the Eagles gave Bradford a two-year, $36 million contract.
This is where I wanted to be, he said. I wanted to be back here. To finally get it done, to know I was going to be back here and not have to worry about anything else? It was a huge relief.
The Eagles traded Bradford six months later. He retired after the 2018 season having never made a Pro Bowl, never made the playoffs, never had a winning season and earning $130 million – $24 million from the Eagles for seven wins.
Carson Wentz
As the second pick in the 2016 draft, Wentz got a four-year, $26.6 million rookie contract. The big money came in June 2019, when he signed a four-year extension through 2024 worth $128 million with an NFL-record $107 million guaranteed.
Cant even explain how excited I am right now to be a part of this great franchise for this many more years, Wentz said. It means the world to me. From the moment I got drafted here, I knew this place was special. To be cemented here for this much longer means the world to me.
Cement isnt exactly the right word. Wentz went 12-15-1 the next two years, got hurt in 2019, benched in 2020, and is now out of football. His original contract was due to run through 2024.
Which leads us to
Jalen Hurts
Hurts rookie contract was worth $1 million per year over four years. His new contract? It’s worth $3 million per game.
