Justin Herbert Becomes The Highest Paid Player in NFL
On Tuesday Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert signed a significant contract extension. Herbert will be the flagship quarterback for the franchise through the 2029 season. The contract extension totals $262.5 million dollars over five years according to reports.
The Chargers inked their quarterback to his new deal right before the start of training camp for the 2023 season. This extension assures Herbert that the Chargers from office want him as their franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future.
The next QB domino falls: Chargers and Justin Herbert reached agreement today on a landmark five-year, $262.5 million extension that ties him to the franchise through the 2029 season, sources tell me and @Lindseythiry. Deal gets done before Chargers’ first training-camp practice… pic.twitter.com/m8cYcqANtX
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 25, 2023
Herbert had a stellar season in 2022 bringing the Chargers to their first postseason trip since 2018. While it ended in one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history for their opponent, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Herbert was not the main culprit in the loss.
Herbert had a productive 2022 season with a career-high 68.2% completion percentage after throwing 25 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. The young quarterback had the third-highest completion percentage in the NFL last season just behind Geno Smith and Joe Burrow.
With his new contract extension, Justin Herbert has become the highest-paid quarterback (and player) in the NFL. Herbert now ranks ahead of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson ($260 mil) and Philadelphia Eagles Jalen Hurts ($255 million). Both of the aforementioned quarterbacks just recently signed their extension and reset the market; now Herbert leaps past them both.
Justin Herbert has immense talent and is a true gunslinger; this cannot be disputed. The Chargers will have to see a return on their investment however when it comes to the postseason. Herbert has made it to the playoffs once in his three seasons in the league and has the difficult task of overtaking the Kansas City Chiefs. Herbert currently has a 2-4 record against the Chiefs and went 0-2 most recently against Patrick Mahomes and company in 2022.
While Herbert is now paid more than Jackson and Hurts both have more playoff appearances than him. Jackson has made three trips to the postseason while Hurts is coming off a Super Bowl appearance (loss) with two total trips to the playoffs.
Chargers general manager Tom Telesco will be hailed a genius if Justin Herbert can dethrone the reigning Super Bowl Champion Chiefs. However, until he does that the massive contract extension will be called into question.