Report: Jalen Hurts becomes highest paid player in NFL history

When the curtain came down on Super Bowl LVII, the Kansas City Chiefs had come from behind to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, with Patrick Mahomes outdueling Jalen Hurts. Both young quarterbacks put on a fantastic offensive display during the game, but in the end it was Kansas City that came away with a second Lombardi in recent years.

The victory for Mahomes capped the first seasons of the ten-year contract extension he signed in 2020, having played the 2020 season on the final year of his rookie contract and the 2021 season on the fifth year option. However, following the game attention turned to the contract situation of Hurts, who was extension eligible having completed his third NFL season since being drafted.

Monday morning, according to a report from NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the discussion can now move on from Hurts’ contract situation, and he is now the highest paid player in NFL history.

As noted, Hurts’ contract is set to pay him $51M per year, and includes absolutely massive guarantees to the tune of $179.304M. In short, paying Geno Smith $25M a year is almost like having a quarterback on a rookie contract because it’s $26M below market rate.

With Hurts now signed through 2028, attention will now turn to the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers to see if either Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert will be able to reach the $60M per year mark, or if that will remain an untouched target for Trevor Lawrence next offseason.