JULY 26: The extension, which ties Herbert to the Chargers through the 2029 season, is now official. Herbert’s 2023 and ’24 cap hits will be under $20MM, with the ’24 number ($19.3MM) representing a $10MM decrease from his $29.5MM fifth-year option salary. The 2025 number checks in at $37.3MM, per OverTheCap, with the ’26 cap hit sitting at $46.3MM. The Bolts will undoubtedly go to the restructure well during this contract, as $58.3MM (2027) and $71.1MM (’28) cap figures appear on this deal down the road.
JULY 25: The latest quarterback domino has fallen. The Chargers have signed quarterback Justin Herbert to a massive five-year extension worth up to $262.5MM, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). The new deal will keep Herbert in Los Angeles through at least the 2029 season. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter), the new deal contains a no-trade clause.
According to Jonathan Jones of CBS (via Twitter), the deal can actually reach $265MM with incentives. The five-year extension includes $218MM in guaranteed money, according to Daniel Popper of The Athletic (via Twitter). Schefter clarifies (on Twitter) that the extension contains $133.7MM in fully guaranteed money, $193.7MM with the injury guarantee, and a potential $218.7MM in total guarantees.
Rapoport notes on Twitter that Herbert will earn a whopping $100MM in year one of the extension, topping the previous one-year high of $80MM in earnings. This will be a significant raise for Herbert, who was set to earn $4.2MM in the fourth year of his rookie deal, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).
In terms of new money, Herbert’s deal will rank fourth at the position in full guarantees and injury guarantees, per Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com (via Twitter). Herbert’s overall guarantees will slide him in third among QBs, and his overall injury guarantees will rank second at the position.
It was only a matter of time until the two sides ultimately agreed to a new deal. We heard back in March that the Chargers and Herbert had started extension talks, and with several quarterbacks having already reset the positional market this offseason, Herbert appeared to be the next in line.
Jalen Hurts (five years, $255MM) briefly held the title of highest-paid QB before Lamar Jackson‘s extension (five years, $260MM) a week later. Now, a few months after Jackson signed his record-breaking deal, Herbert is once again resetting the market, settling in at a contract that will pay him $52.5MM. The Chargers QB is now one of four players at his position to top $50MM (along with Hurts, Jackson, and Aaron Rodgers), and it will only be a matter of time before Joe Burrow and the Bengals agree to an extension that once again reshapes the market.
A mega-deal is certainly warranted for Herbert. Through three seasons in the league, Herbert has quickly established himself as one of the NFL’s top signal-callers. His 14,089 passing yards are the most through a player’s first three seasons in NFL history, and his 94 touchdowns through three seasons trails only Dan Marino (98) on the all-time list.
The sixth-overall pick in the 2020 draft, Herbert earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors after tossing 31 touchdowns vs. 10 interceptions. He got a Pro Bowl nod in 2021 after compiling 38 touchdowns, but Herbert found the end zone only 25 times in 2022. However, he had a career-high 68.2 completion percentage this past season while guiding the Chargers to 10 wins and his first career playoff appearance.
2023 will be a crucial year for the Chargers. With Herbert’s extension set to kick in, the cash-strapped organization will look to capitalize on an offense led by Herbert, running back Austin Ekeler, and wideouts Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. As ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry points out on Twitter, the Chargers’ ability to sign Herbert on the eve of training camp also ensures that there will be zero distractions as the Chargers look to install coordinator Kellen Moore‘s new offense.
BOOM
When guys like this get married, do most of them demand prenups?
One would expect his parents to counsel accordingly
That’s a lotta coin for zero playoff wins…
Not his fault the defense and coaching have been awful his first three years.
@rct it sure will be in the future though after they can’t pay anyone else lol
Didn’t put up anything in the playoff loss to the Jaguars in the 2nd half when the team needed him the most
Right. And it will only get worse for the bolts as this contract kicks in and they realize they can’t pay their other stars. Welcome to Salary Cap Hell.
Right. And it will only get worse as they figure out they can’t pay their other stars. Welcome to salary cap hell.
Depends on how far cap moves each season
Like they had a choice? Every team is going to sign their franchise QB to a crazy big contract. Unless you’re suggesting they should’ve let him walk or traded him? Which would be a idiotic idea.
GD that’s a deal boy.
Congrats to him.
Better to pay him now before Burrow gets his.
MVP szn coming.
Yeah he only has a to beat out Allen, Burrow, Mahomes and Rogers….you know… the actually good QBs, not the fabricated good QBs…
Rodgers? Lol
Yeah… that back to back mvp was something we should just ignore…right? I was trying to find Herbert’s last playoff win… when was that date again… lol
Rodgers didn’t do much last year and he’s 40. Don’t expect an MVP season for him. He’s an upgrade from the garbage the Jets had last year, but he’s no Burrow, Mahomes or Allen
Give the kid a chance to have full participation of the offense and mesh with new OC & QB coach
Allen is pretty fabricated, he’s a turnover machine.
That’s the tantalizing thing about Allen. He’s a GD monster as it is even with the turnovers. Imagine if they can cut out just say 30-40% of the turnovers? We’re talking MVP. But that’s a big what if
He needs a real #2 WR and running game until those turnovers start to evaporate. The system they run is unstable and won’t sustain success if they can’t take a little pressure off the guy. I do agree though he is extremely talented.
Burrows got his benchmark now.
Good for him…he deserves it!!
Nice it’s done! Good job Tom & Team
Hey Justin, ole pal…..how about a 1 mil 1 time average old guy citizen donation. I’d be able to come down for home games!!!!
And yet the Chargers can’t outsell their opponent’s fans in home games! Or the stadium is half empty.
Y’all haven’t seen where opponents’ fanbases take over FedEx Field outside D.C. Every single game.
Thing about LA is – winning produces fans but traffic ‘to and from’ stadium sucks, throw in so much to do in town it’s hard to compete for the fickle minded bodies unless you win noticeably.
now get a real HC
They barely missed the playoff Staley’s first year and made the playoffs last year. Both years they had as many injuries to keep players or just as many as any other team. With that in mind, I think Staley has done pretty well so far.
Except for blowing a huge lead in the 2nd half of a playoff game
So was that coaches or defense or just on Herbert?
That’s on all of them. Starts with the HC. I didn’t see Herbert have that winning attitude like Brady does. He couldn’t get it done in the 2nd half.
Burrow is next
Seems like they extended him a year too early, thus they have limited their ability to sign expensive talent while still having a cheap QB under contract. That kind of move is why the Chargers always underachieve.
Extending him next year would be more expensive – play out that way every season. In 3 years this contract will be a bargain.
There are players to extend next year and the year after – Slater and likely Assanti in 24 and Zion year after, so whatever the ‘cap’ provides
They did the same thing litteraly every other NFL in recent memory has done. So just stop with your fabricated narrative
Somewhere Joe Burrow is smiling right now
As is T Lawrence and the next group of QB’s begging to sign.
Kind of ridiculous to pay Herbert more than Hurts and Jackson, he hasn’t done squat. Good numbers, but c’mon. Not hating just saying.
The only thing I can say in retaliation to your comment is that I think Herbert is an actual QB not just an advanced RB with throwing potential. Herbert throws the ball as well as any QB in the league. He doesn’t need to worry about running to make his stats look better. Herbert is a real 10-15 year QB who can actually sustain the same numbers if not improve upon his numbers. Running QB’s are great, they bring a different dynamic to the QB pocket but they are not the same thing as an actual talented QB who can drop back and throw the ball. Herbert will be in the league long after Hurts and Jackson, so it makes sense to pay him.
He has a far longer track record then Jalen Hurts and has all time great numbers so far in his career. So Im really confused why you’re saying Jalen Hurts definitely deserved his contract extension but Justin Herbert didn’t. Because the numbers clearly don’t even remotely support your opinion.
They still won’t win with that coach at the helm
The inbred Spanos club of incompetence and bad karma will waste all 5 years of Justin Herbert’s career. What a waste of talent with a team that represents nothing, represents no city, and will never have fans. #fightdeanspanos
The Chargers have a genuine following in the OC, IE, and SD. They’re actually building a practice site and club offices in the OC.
There’s a reason why the NFL did not let the Raiders return to the Southland.
They still are the SD Chargers to me always will be
If Herbert plays for the Chargers as long as Philip Rivers did, the numbers in this contract are going to look rather puny by 2035…lol.
Herbert does look a lot like Philip Rivers. A big quarterback who can read the field well, takes a hit and keeps on ticking. From Philip Rivers to Justin Herbert is a pretty smooth transition. Good on the Chargers. They’ve taken care of the most important position.
I haven’t seen Herbert with the “it” factor yet. He has all the abilities and talent, but hasn’t shown he’s a winner yet. Show me he isn’t Jeff George.
26% of Herbert’s starts had game winning drives while George only managed 14%. That should put an end to any comparison.
That was against bad teams like AZ, ATL, and a practice squad TENN team. Why was Herbert losing to these teams in the 4thQ anyway?
My curiosity lies in the ‘experts’ and their predictions on teams this season. Lots of player movement, some interesting drafts and big money deals, AFC is gonna to interesting.
so where’s the articles declaring 2023 hierarchy……