Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is preparing for the largest showdown of his career. Hurts and the Eagles will battle Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. Hurts has developed into a legitimate franchise quarterback throughout an MVP-worthy campaign, but there’s one more professional hurdle to clear to truly put the cherry on top of Hurts’ historic 2022 season. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie believes Hurts has already earned a sizable contract extension, however. Lurie would be correct.

“I don’t think he has anything to prove (as the quarterback of the future),” Lurie recently said. “He [Hurts] is an MVP-caliber quarterback, an incredible leader of the team on the field (and) off the field. He’s 24 years old, incredibly mature, and, most importantly, driven to be even better,” Lurie concluded.

Lurie’s assessment is correct from a contractual standpoint. Hurts has undeniably taken the steps forward necessary to earn a lucrative extension from the Eagles. No quarterback showcased more development in 2022 than Hurts did. Hurts posted career-highs in completion percentage (66.5%), passing yards (3,701), passing touchdowns (22), yards per attempt (8.0), rushing touchdowns (13), and quarterback rating (101.5) throughout the regular season. He’s now led the Eagles to Super Bowl LVII while overseeing an offense that strung together back-to-back 30-plus point performances in the divisional round and NFC Championship Game.

Hurts’ postseason success has simply been the continuation of Philadelphia’s dreamy regular-season campaign. The Eagles finished an NFL-best 14-3 (tied with their Super Bowl LVII adversary Chiefs). The Eagles finished third in total yards gained per contest (389.1), ninth in passing yards per game (241.5), fifth in rushing yards per outing (147.6), and third in points scored per game (28.1). Hurts is at home in Nick Sirianni and Shane Steichen’s offense.

The status of Hurts’ contract doesn’t depend on the outcome of Super Bowl Sunday, but Hurts’ league-wide reputation would certainly benefit from bringing Super Bowl LVII home to Philadelphia, however. Hurts deserves to be mentioned alongside today’s elite quarterbacks such as Mahomes, who he’ll ironically be competing against. Winning a Super Bowl would confirm Hurts’ placement as one of the league’s brightest stars.

The No. 53 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, Hurts is currently scheduled to enter the final campaign of his rookie contract in 2023. Hurts is eligible to sign an extension this summer. The Eagles don’t possess a fifth-year option on Hurts’ contract due to his second-round status. Hurts is set to earn a base salary of $4.3 million, per Spotrac. For contextual purposes, Hurts is scheduled to earn less than various backup quarterbacks.

Hurts is in a position to command something in the neighborhood of $45-50 million annually. The quarterback market is going to be reset this offseason. Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert are also eligible to sign extensions. Burrow’s extension may shatter the record books, and Hurts will want to be in similar territory. Aaron Rodgers currently leads all quarterbacks in annual average salary ($50.2 million) with Russell Wilson ($48.5 million) ranking second.

The Eagles will sign Hurts to an extremely lucrative extension regardless of Super Bowl LVII’s outcome. Capturing a Lombardi trophy would immediately elevate Hurts’ legacy, however. Hurts will aim to make history on Super Bowl Sunday before becoming one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in NFL history.