Jalen Carter becomes highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history with Eagles deal
The Eagles made Jalen Carter the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history on Tuesday, agreeing to a four-year, $152 million extension that can reach $160 million with incentives, including $106 million guaranteed, agents Drew and Jason Rosenhaus told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The average annual value tops the $35.2 million Jeffery Simmons signed for with Tennessee, and the guarantee clears his $100 million mark as well, making Carter the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history on both counts.
Philadelphia already held Carter’s fifth-year option for 2027 at $27.1 million, so the team had him under contract through next season regardless. The new deal runs through 2031 instead, locking up the 25-year-old two years before he would have hit the market and ensuring the extension talk does not linger into camp the way similar contract situations have dragged on for other stars leaguewide this summer.
In three seasons since Georgia and the No. 9 overall pick in 2023, Carter has 13.5 sacks, 37 quarterback hits and 108 tackles, earned second-team All-Pro honors in the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX season, and made the Pro Bowl in each of his first two years as a starter, and finished as runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2023.
Breaking: The Eagles are signing two-time Pro-Bowl selection Jalen Carter to a four-year, $152 million extension worth up to $160 million, including $106 million guaranteed, his agents told @AdamSchefter.
The extension makes him the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history.… pic.twitter.com/KxEimt5AoN
— ESPN (@espn) July 28, 2026
An injury-shortened 2025 did not slow the negotiation
The case for a record deal was complicated last season, but never derailed. Shoulder and heel injuries limited him to 11 games, and his sack total dropped to three, though he still managed 41 pressures and drew constant double and triple teams that opened lanes for the rest of Philadelphia’s front.
He also avoided further discipline from the league after spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in last season’s opener, an incident that briefly threatened to overshadow his play.
The Eagles finalized the deal Tuesday, one day before padded practices opened, ending any chance of a training camp holdout over the contract.
Vic Fangio’s defense has been built around Carter’s ability to collapse a pocket from the interior for two seasons now, and Philadelphia just bet close to a decade of salary cap space on that continuing. The team also picked up his fifth-year option earlier this offseason before the two sides moved straight into extension talks rather than letting the situation play out year to year.
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