Jordan Mailata, a left tackle, and the Philadelphia Eagles reached an agreement on Thursday to extend his contract for three more years at a cost of $66 million.
ESPN said that the deal has a $20 million signing bonus on top of a $48 million guaranteed sum.
The Eagles decided not to reveal the financial information even if they acknowledged Mailata’s extension.
Mailata is contracted to Philadelphia through the conclusion of the 2028 season. Mailata is one of the NFL’s highest-paid offensive linemen, with an average yearly pay of $22 million, only surpassed by Trent Williams, Andrew Thomas, and Laremy Tunsil.
Australian-born Mailata, 27, switched from rugby to football after coming to the US in January 2018 to train at Florida’s IMG Academy.
A little more than three months later, the Eagles took a risk on the 6-foot-8, 365-pound Mailata, picking him in the seventh round despite his lack of experience with the game.
Mailata’s journey has been nothing short of extraordinary since then. In 2020, he was rewarded with a starting berth in the lineup, and he has remained the starting left tackle ever since.
As an essential component of one of the NFL’s best offensive lines, Mailata played in all 17 games the previous campaign, finishing second only to teammate Lane Johnson with an amazing 80% run block win percentage.
