Eagles BREAKING: Jalen Carter First Rookie to Sign Contract: $22 Million Guaranteed
PHILADELPHIA – Jalen Carter wasted little time getting off on the right foot with his new team, agreeing to a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday.
The first of two first-round draft picks, Carter landed a fully-guaranteed $21.8 million deal, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The defensive tackle from the University of Georgia is the first rookie from this recent NFL Draft to sign a contract. The deal comes on the eve of the Eagles’ rookie camp, set to begin on Friday.
Carter was the ninth overall pick in last week’s 2023 NFL Draft. The Eagles followed that selection up by taking Carter’s teammate, edge rusher/outside linebacker Nolan Smith, 20 picks later, also in the first round.
Character issues have plagued Carter since he pled no contest in March to a fatal traffic accident that killed a Georgia teammate and football staffer at the school and his alleged involvement with that.
Signing a contract his early in the process is certainly a step in the right direction.
Asked about his emotional reaction after he was selected, Carter said on a video call: “It was a lot. My mind was changing every second. I was just thinking about how my family felt. I've been grinding all my life for this moment right now, and just to see the smile on their faces and the tears coming out of their eyes, it made me tear up.”
Veteran center Jason Kelce said on his most-recent episode of his podcast, New Heights, that he fully supports the Eagles’ decision to pick Carter in the top 10.
“We’re all excited as hell that he’s a part of the team,” said Kelce. “Now he gets to go out there and earn it, man, go out there every day, go out there and become the player that you can be, and he’s going to do it a room with a bunch of other great guys.”
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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