If you’re listening closely to what the Philadelphia Eagles have been saying during the annual NFL owners meetings, you’ll find a common theme from owner Jeffrey Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni when it comes to the roster.
Even after winning the Super Bowl on February 9, the roster needs to be overhauled to sustain that success. That means paying the young stars on the roster in the coming years. Which means stockpiling cash for what will certainly be some of the biggest contracts in NFL history.
At the very front of that group will be NFL All-Pro defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who was just the best player on a Super Bowl-winning defense in 2024, in just his second season, and will almost certainly reset the market for his position and, perhaps, become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history after the 2025 season.
“PROJECTION: #Eagles star defensive lineman Jalen Carter is projected to sign a 4-YEAR, $168 MILLION CONTRACT extension when he is eligible next off-season,” MLFootball wrote on its official X account on March 23. “Carter is only 23 years old and is already a Super Bowl Champion, All-Pro & Pro Bowler. It will be a historic deal.”
Eagles Got All-Time Value on Carter in 2023 NFL Draft
If there is a theme coming into focus for Carter’s football career, it’s a pretty simple one. Put him on your defense and your team will win championships.
At the University of Georgia, Carter was the best player on defenses that won consecutive College Football Playoff national championships following the 2021 and 2022 seasons, earning unanimous All-American honors in 2022.
Carter was projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft but saw his draft stock plummet following a serious off-field incident that dropped him into the Eagles’ laps with the No. 9 overall pick.
“When assessing a player’s draft grade, we take into consideration areas like traits, toughness, explosiveness, skill level, potential for growth and positional projections,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote before the 2023 draft. “Across the board, Carter checks out in a big way.”
With Carter and his 4-year, $21.8 million rookie contract, the Eagles have got the kind of value probably only comparable, in recent history, to what the Kansas City Chiefs got out of quarterback Patrick Mahomes when he led his team to a Super Bowl win in his second season as a starter in 2019.
Breaking Down Current Market for Defensive Tackles
It’s worth taking a look at the current market for defensive tackles to get an idea of just how valuable Carter is to the Eagles. The current highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL is 3-time Super Bowl champion Chris Jones, who signed a 5-year, $158.7 million contract with the Chiefs in March 2024 that included $95 million in guaranteed money.
A better template for what Carter might aspire to, in terms of a contract extension, would be the deals for edge rushers. Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett is currently the NFL’s highest paid defensive player with a 4-year, $160 million contract extension he signed on March 9 — a deal that will likely be exceeded by Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons in the coming months.
