Eagles beat growing WR market with big, early deals for A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith

Ralph Vacchiano

NFC East Reporter

Nobody feels bad for DeVonta Smith or A.J. Brown, not with the millions of dollars they’ve made, with millions more to come. They both just signed lucrative, long-term extensions with the Philadelphia Eagles. They’re doing fine.

They also could have been doing better.

That is one of the realities of NFL free agency, that it can be about timing as much as talent. And it’s part of the genius of what the Eagles’ wizard-like general manager, Howie Roseman, did with Smith and Brown as part of his offseason spending spree. He didn’t need to sign either of them to an extension. Both were under contract for another two seasons.

But by breaking the bank for two contract extensions worth a combined $167 million for two players who play the same position, Roseman locked them up with deals that are already under market. By 2026, when the duo would have been free agents, these contracts might look like absolute steals.

“Neither of them would’ve reset the market if they had waited a few months,” said one prominent NFL agent. “And they did great for two guys who signed earlier than they needed to sign. But absolutely their prices would’ve gone up after what’s happened the last few weeks.

“If they waited one more year there’s a chance they both could’ve ended up being paid more than all of them.”

Now, of course, they’ll never know for sure after Smith signed a three-year, $75 million extension (with $51 million in new guaranteed money) in mid-April and Brown signed a three-year, $92 million deal (with $84 million guaranteed) just 11 days later. Smith still had the last two years of his rookie contract (including his fifth-year option) to go. And Brown still had two years left on the four-year, $100 million extension he signed when the Eagles got him from Tennessee back in 2022.

Both deals are lucrative and made each among the highest-paid receivers in the NFL at the time. Brown’s deal, in fact, made…

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Publish date : 2024-06-05 18:10:09

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