Justin Herbert, quarterback of the Los Angeles Charges, signed on Tuesday a contract extension for five years and 262.5 million dollars that places him as the highest-paid player in the NFL.
Thanks to this agreement, the quarterback will earn 52.5 million dollars annually; he surpasses Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, who will get $52 million; and Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles, with 51, passers who earlier this year topped the highest-paid list.
The $52.5 million the Chargers will pay Herbert represents a 138.6 percent increase over what the NFL’s then-highest-paid 10 years ago, which in 2013 was Aaron Rodgers at $22 million. Today, Rodgers is fourth on the list of those who receive the most money, with 50.2 million.
.@Chargers fans have 262.5 million reasons why they're happy Justin Herbert is staying in LA. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/vShY2K9tbG
— NFL (@NFL) July 25, 2023
Justin Herbert was a first-round pick that the Chargers selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, a season in which he was awarded Rookie of the Year. In three years he has started 49 of 50 possible games.
The Eugene, Oregon, native is the first player in NFL history to complete 1,316 passes for 14,089 yards and 102 touchdowns in his first three seasons, 94 through the air and eight on the ground.
He is also the only one in history to surpass 4,000 passing yards in each of his first three seasons.
His achievements don’t stop there. In 2021 he was selected to the Pro Bowl, something that no Chargers quarterback had achieved since the last century with Dan Fouts, considered the best passer in the history of the team. Fouts, nicknamed “The Highlander,” totaled six Pro Bowl call-ups in 15 years with the franchise.
With Herbert, who played for the Oregon Ducks of college football, the Los Angeles Charges have a record of 25 wins and 24 losses in the regular season and have an appearance in the playoffs of the previous season, in which they fell in the wild-card round to the Jaguars.