Zach Ertz will turn 30 this year, and that's always a number to watch when it comes to the life span of NFL players. But for the Eagles star tight end, there's no sign of slowing down as he prepares for his eighth season in the league.
But with Dallas Goedert waiting in the wings — and Ertz looking for a contract extension that will keep him in Philly beyond the 2021 season, when his current deal expires — the question becomes just how long Ertz will be playing football in Philly.
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Let's get this out of the way right at the top: Zach Ertz is an immensely talented player and one of the best in the NFL at his position. He scored the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LII and is a hero in this city. He's also one of the good guys in the sports world, and no one wants to see him leave at any point. After a rocky start to his career that was filled with seemingly endless versions of "When will Zach Ertz break out?" articles, Ertz has become a household name. Philly has seen him through ups and downs and fans feel like he is one of their own.
This is not a story trying to run Ertz out of town, but pro football is a business first and foremost, and the Eagles are a financially savvy team — one that publicly said this offseason that it's made the mistake in the past of being too loyal to its own players. So, through that lens, it becomes a little easier to see why Ertz' status in Philly is far from guaranteed. Especially after talks about a possible extension for the Pro Bowl tight end have gone quiet.
That's the word according to ESPN's Tim McManus, who points out that Ertz, along with fellow top-tier tight ends George Kittle and Travis Kelce, could change the market at the position, as all three led their teams in receiving and are looking to be paid more like receivers than tight ends. McManus speculates that Kittle, who is in the last year of his rookie deal, will easily eclipse the current mark set by Austin Hooper and Hunter Henry ($10.5 million) with a contract somewhere in the $14 million/year range. Ertz, he believes, could make somewhere around $12.5 million per season if he signs an extension now — but that would change if one of the other guys sign first and set a new market standard, meaning the Eagles would be wise to lock him up now rather than waiting for Kittle.
And that makes it very interesting that contract negotiations have recently gone quiet, especially after the Eagles exercised Ertz' option for the 2021 season. Ertz is on the books for $8 million in 2020 and $8.25 million in 2021, so you can see how he might feel like he's underpaid at this point given that Hooper and Henry make over $2 million more per season. Those will be the last two seasons of Ertz' current five-year, $42.5 million deal that he signed back in 2016.
The Eagles also reportedly tried to work on an extension with Ertz during the 2019 season, around the same time they inked Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson to extensions, but they were unable to work anything out with Ertz at the time.
Now, Ertz' future beyond 2021 in Philadelphia is more in doubt than it ever was. And with Goedert up for a new deal after this season, the Eagles are in a tough spot as McManus points out.
It's beyond next season when things get hazier absent a new deal. The Eagles are high on fellow tight end Dallas Goedert, whose contract, like Ertz's, runs through 2021. He'll be eligible for a new deal after this season. How would it play if they gave Goedert a shiny new contract, but not Ertz? Or how about the other way around? Would Goedert, 25, be keen on staying in Philly if there's no clear path to becoming the No. 1 tight end? Are the Eagles prepared to dedicate all those cap resources to the position by extending both, or would it make sense to move one of them?
Ideally, they'd find a way to make it work. Ertz has been massively productive since being selected 35th overall by the Eagles in 2013...
At the same time, Ertz will be 30 in November, and the Eagles have been stressing the importance of a youth movement -- a message backed by the decisions to allow Malcolm Jenkins and Jason Peters to hit free agency this offseason. They're in the mode of forecasting out over the next several years and need to weigh anticipated production over accomplishments when deciding on resource allocation. [espn.com]
In addition to having to navigate the Goedert stuff, the longer the Eagles go without making a deal for Ertz, the more expensive said deal likely becomes as price tags around the NFL will increase with new TV money and expanded salary caps likely coming. And because the Eagles know this, the longer they go without inking a deal, the more it reveals about their plans for the future at the tight end position.
"As one of the best financially run teams in the NFL," McManus adds, "they know the time to strike, so it would be telling if they didn't.
Of course, the ultimate decision on Ertz is still nearly two years away — and a lot can happen in the interim. Meanwhile the Eagles are still in the process of building their roster for the 2020 season, so let's take a look at all the latest free agency (and draft, now that we're in April) rumors floating around the internet with another edition of our live tracker...
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