April 05, 2024
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
Landon Dickerson (69) and Jordan Mailata (68) both scored contract extensions this offseason.
On Thursday the Philadelphia Eagles announced that they agreed to a three-year contract extension with starting LT Jordan Mailata. That was a bit out of the ordinary, given that Mailata still had two years left on his contract. The deal was reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN to be worth $66 million over those three years, which included $48 million in guaranteed money, $20 million of which came via signing bonus. Schefter wrote:
"The $22 million per-year average puts him behind only Laremy Tunsil, Trent Williams and Andrew Thomas amongst the NFL’s highest-paid offensive tackles."
Eh, that's stretching the truth a bit, or perhaps better stated, Schefter is simply parroting back to the public what Mailata's agent likely asked him to say. The $22 million per year is based on the new money in this deal, which again, is a contract extension on top of the two years Mailata already had left on the previous deal. When the extension actually begins in 2026, it will be interesting to see where Mailata's deal ranks among offensive tackles at that time.
The Eagles — and other teams around the league for that matter — don't often do new deals with players who have two years left on their contracts. They'll make exceptions if the player is willing to leave a whole lot of earning potential on the table, as I believe Mailata and his representation did here. By comparison, Landon Dickerson scored a $21 million per year deal this offseason at a far less important position. He had one year left on his deal.
On an offensive line with two future Hall of Famers, I thought Mailata was quietly stellar in 2023, both in the run game and in pass protection. He was deserving of Pro Bowl recognition, but didn't get in. As we have seen, his career path has followed a steady upward trajectory, and he has also been durable, missing just three games due to injury over the last three seasons. He is also young, relative to the highest-earning offensive tackles in the NFL, as he just turned 27 a few days ago. His previous deal was worth $16 million per year, plus incentives. A $6 million per year raise is nice, by why lock that in now, when the salary cap is expected to continue to rise substantially?
Maybe the difference between $22 million per year and, say, (I'll just spitball here) $25-$28 million per year down the road is negligible to Mailata? If so, good for him! But the idea that his representation should be proud of the work they did here and propping it up as the fourth-highest LT contract in the league is kinda laughable. This was a no-brainer deal for the Eagles, locking in a core player at one of the most important positions in football at a very reasonable cost through 2028.
• Through 2028: QB Jalen Hurts, LT Jordan Mailata, LG Landon Dickerson, K Jake Elliott.
• Through 2027: None.
• Through 2026: RT Lane Johnson, WR A.J. Brown, EDGE Bryce Huff, RB Saquon Barkley, S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson.
DT Jalen Carter, EDGE Nolan Smith, and the rest of the Eagles' 2023 rookie class — OL Tyler Steen, S Sydney Brown, CB Kelee Ringo, QB Tanner McKee, and DT Moro Ojomo — are also under contract through 2026, with Carter and Smith also both having fifth-year options attached to their rookie deals as first-round picks.
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