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Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is one of the most successful owners in the NFL since the turn of the century.
Lurie purchased the team in 1994. Since that point, the Eagles have been to the NFC Conference Championship Game seven times, the Super Bowl three times, and won the Lombardi Trophy once.
Philadelphia is looking to double the number of Lombardi Trophies on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
But Lurie’s success has come largely due to staying out of the spotlight, unlikely his NFC East counterpart Jerry Jones with the Dallas Cowboys.
With his team back in the Super Bowl, that’s a little bit more difficult than usual.
Lurie spoke to media members on Monday night as part of Super Bowl opening night in Phoenix. One important question surrounded the contract status of star quarterback Jalen Hurts,
The Eagles selected Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. After spending one season as a backup to Carson Wentz, the Oklahoma product to the starting job in 2021 and blossomed into a Pro Bowl caliber this past season.
Hurts now enters the final year of his rookie contract in 2023 and Philadelphia will have to either pay him like a superstar or see him walk. Thankfully for Eagles fans, Lurie seems dead set on the first option.
“I don’t think he has anything to prove [to be the long-term answer at quarterback],” Lurie told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio at the Super Bowl’s opening night. “He is an MVP-caliber quarterback, an incredible leader of the team on the field, off the field. He’s 24 years old, incredibly mature and, most importantly, driven to be even better. What we’re seeing today I think is just the beginning for Jalen. This guy will attack every weakness as he has since high school, since college. The future is bright and very exciting for all of us.” – via ESPN
Hurts threw for 3,701 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions in just 15 regular season games. He also ran for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns. Sportac projects his next contract at six-years, $265 million. That breaks down to $44.2 million per year and would make him the league sixth-highest-paid quarterback.
But if Hurts continues to show he can be a Super Bowl caliber QB, it’s more than worth it.