Jordan Mailata’s extension with Eagles still earning rave reviews

Just say it out loud, and see how it sounds. Four years… $64 million… $40.85 million guaranteed… If only we were talking about ourselves, right? Most of us weren’t around when it happened, but we imagined that Jordan Mailata walked around saying those words to himself. By putting pen to paper and signing on the dotted line back on September 11th, every Philadelphia Eagles fan’s favorite Australian guaranteed himself a spot on the team through, at least, the 2026 season.

Who would have thought? A man that was drafted in the seventh round and never played American football prior to 2018 hit the jackpot… literally. His grandchildren won’t have to work now unless they just want to.

Kudos to Mailata. The Eagles definitely deserve the thumbs up for this one. We pick on Howie Roseman a lot (and deservedly so), but he nailed this one. At 24 years young (he’ll turn 25 on March 31st, the sky is the limit, and it’s going to be fun to watch this guy grow up here.

Months later, Jordan Mailata’s extension continues to turn heads.

It’s funny how we can say phrases like ‘four years’ and ’64 million’ and throw the word ‘bargain’ in the same sentence, but the Birds got a few pats on the back for moving quickly on Jordan Mailata’s extension. Months later, this one’s still getting rave reviews.

Recently, CBS Sports labeled his deal as the best contract extension done by any NFL team. Here’s some of what Joel Corry, the writer of this one, had to say on the subject.

"Mailata played at a Pro Bowl level in his first season as a full-time starter. He only gave up 20 quarterback pressures this season according to PFF. Without the extension, the Eagles would have been forced to designate Mailata as a franchise player or risk losing him in free agency. Since Mailata is just scratching the surface of his talent, he would have been in high demand on the open market. Mailata joining the $20 million per year offensive lineman club, which currently has three members, would have been a certainty… Becoming the NFL’s highest-paid offensive lineman, like Trent Brown did with the Raiders in 2019 free agency, wouldn’t have been out of the question since Mailata doesn’t turn 25 until the end of March."

Yep! By definition, Mailata’s deal, for all intents and purposes was a bargain. He’ll continue to develop into more of an all-star talent, especially with Jeff Stoutland in his ear. There should be no doubts about that one.

In 2021, Mailata, despite being snubbed by Pro Bowl voters, had a season to remember. He says he’ll use his disappointment as fuel which is exactly what you want to hear from a budding NFL star. Amazingly, it’s obvious that he’s only going to get better with time. This is going to be one of the cornerstones of a great Eagles offensive line for years to come.

Keep an eye on number 68 on the field next season. Standing at six-foot-eight and tipping the scales at 365 pounds, he shouldn’t be hard to miss.