When it rains, it pours! According to Ian Rapoport, the Philadelphia Eagles have handed Jason Kelce a new deal for 2021.
This comes after a flurry of reported restructures. Darius Slay, Brandon Graham, and Lane Johnson are the three key names to have re-worked their deals so far, likely opening up the funds to pay the veteran center. Kelce took to Instagram to announce his return.
The wording of Rapoport’s tweet is interesting. Kelce was about to enter his contract year and cost the Eagles $4M, with a base salary of $1.5M. The wildcard here is that there was a pending $15M dead-cap hit in 2022 due to previous restructures. While this may not have come to fruition, it’s no coincidence that $9M is fully guaranteed. The Eagles have taken the majority of next years’ troubles and decided to swallow the pill early, which is fine, but does little to negate the 2021 struggles.
There’s no doubting that the Eagles need Kelce going into 2022. With a new-look offense and Jalen Hurts preparing for his first full season as a starter, it makes sense to reward one of the greatest Eagles of all time, who is still performing at a high level, by paying him his worth.
Kelce didn’t miss a single game in 2020 while the rest of the offensive line fell apart, surrendering only 4 sacks and becoming the glue that holds the offensive front together. He was named a Pro Bowler for the fourth time in his career. He’ll now be entering year number 11 after being drafted in the sixth round back in 2011.
There’s no denying that there will be utter heartbreak when Kelce does decide to hang up his cleats. He’s a beloved athlete in the City who has done nothing but shine on and off the field during his time in Philadelphia. The good news is that the party isn’t over yet.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
