A few days ago, the Eagles signed offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo to a three-year contract extension. Now, we know how much it’s worth.
The three-year extension came with a $4 million signing bonus and includes a total of $12,649,000 in guaranteed money, according to a league source. The whole deal is worth $17.627 million.
This is a decent deal for a player who just became a real starter last season. But it could also become a really good deal for the Eagles if Seumalo continues to improve. He got much better in the 2018 season and projects as their starting left guard of the future — and perhaps eventually a center if and when Jason Kelce ever retires.
Here’s a breakdown of Seumalo’s contract extension by year:
2019: $749,000 base salary; $1,739,966 cap hit
2020: $3.1M base salary; $4.06M cap hit
2021: $4M base salary; $4.96M cap hit
NFL
2022: $4.978M base salary; $5.938M cap hit (option year)
Seumalo’s 2019 numbers don’t change at all. His base salary and cap hit remain the same, so the extension takes hold after the 2019 season. That will also give the Eagles a chance to evaluate his play for one more season, because the 2022 option year must be exercised by the 10th day of the 2020 league year. If Seumalo plays well, the Eagles will exercise that option and keep him around for 2022.
His APY (average per year) during the three-year extension is $5.626 million. There are 27 guards in the NFL with an APY higher than that, so if Seumalo continues to develop over the course of this contract extension, the Eagles might end up with a bargain deal. And if he doesn’t look good in 2019, they can get out of the extension a year early, after the 2021 season.
This seems like a contract from the Joe Banner School of Contracts. Lock down a young player a year before his deal is up in an attempt to gain some extra value. There’s some projection involved, but Seumalo was probably thrilled to get that $4 million signing bonus in his pocket and the Eagles will be thrilled if he continues to get better, eventually making his deal a bargain.
Kelce’s extension
Meanwhile, the Eagles also offered an extension to center Jason Kelce that keeps him Philadelphia through the 2021 season.
Kelce’s extension included a $7.57 million signing bonus, according to a league source. It also saves considerable cap room in 2019.
Here are Kelce’s next three years:
2019: $930K base salary; $2.44M cap hit
2020: $1.5M base salary; $6.414M cap hit
2021: $5.5M base salary; $8.414 cap hit
Kelce’s cap hit for 2019 on his old deal was going to be $6.5 million, so the Eagles save just over $4 million in cap room for the upcoming season. His cap hit for 2020 was lowered by about $500,000.
NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank contributed to this report.
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