DeVonta Smith got his payday and he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
The Philadelphia Eagles have now ensured that their rising star receiver is under contract through the 2028 season.
On Monday morning, the Eagles picked up Smith’s fifth-year option on his rookie contract and agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2028 season, the team announced.
So in 2025, Smith will play on the fifth-year option and his three-year extension for 2026, 2027 and 2028 is worth $75 million and includes $51 million in guaranteed money, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
It’s big-time money for Smith, who didn’t seem too worried about this deal getting done.
“Let the chips fall where they fall,” Smith said about his contract situation in February. “When the time comes, it comes. I’m not necessarily focused on it. It will come and I’m just letting it go.”
That annual average of $25 million over the three-year extension matches the APY of teammate A.J. Brown’s four-year, $100 million contract signed after he was traded to the Eagles in 2022.
NFL
In terms of APY, the Eagles now have two of the top five highest-paid receivers in the NFL. Just Tyreek Hill ($30M), Davante Adams ($28M) and Cooper Kupp ($26.7M) have higher APYs than Brown and Smith. It's worth noting that the Eagles got this deal done before major extensions for Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb reset the market.
Smith became eligible for a contract extension after finishing the third year of his rookie contract in 2023. He enters the final year of that rookie deal in 2024 and will play on the fifth-year option in 2025. That option year is projected to be worth $15.591 million, according to OverTheCap.
The Eagles didn’t need to get this extension done now but they always prioritize getting deals done with their players early. And Smith is the kind of cornerstone player they never want to let leave the building.
Smith, 25, was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Alabama and he’s been exactly what the Eagles hoped he’d be during the first three years of his career.
In his first three seasons, Smith has caught 240 passes for 3,178 yards and 19 touchdowns. Despite sharing the field with a Pro Bowler like Brown, Smith has still managed to go over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons.
In 2023, Smith finished 20th in the NFL with 1,066 receiving yards but many suspect there’s another level coming in his game. Even Smith thinks there’s more coming.
“I would say, yeah,” he said in February. “You’ve seen it at times. But I mean, that just comes down to getting the ball in space. That’s all it is.”
The Eagles offense will look different in 2024 after the addition of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. There’s a good chance Smith will be one of the players who benefits most from that change.
The Eagles have been busy this offseason and now have five players under contract through 2028: Jalen Hurts, Landon Dickerson, Jake Elliott, Jordan Mailata and Smith. Those last four have gotten extensions this offseason.
