National Football League

Justin Herbert, Chargers reportedly agree to 5-year, $262.5 million extension

Updated Jul. 28, 2023 4:27 p.m. ET

Justin Herbert will be under center for the Los Angeles Chargers for the foreseeable future.

Herbert and the Chargers have agreed to a five-year, $262.5 million extension, NFL Network reported Tuesday. The deal runs through the 2029 NFL season.

The extension will make Herbert the highest paid player in the NFL ($52.5 million average annual salary) and surpasses contracts signed earlier this offseason by fellow quarterbacks Lamar Jackson (five-year, $260 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens) and Jalen Hurts (five-year, $255 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles).

Across his three seasons in the NFL, Herbert has established himself as one of the sport's premier quarterbacks. This past season, he totaled 4,739 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 93.2 passer rating, completing 68.2% of his passes. The year prior (2021), Herbert threw for 5,014 yards and 38 touchdowns.

Los Angeles selected Herbert with the No. 6 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Oregon. Since taking over as the Chargers' starting quarterback in Week 2 of his rookie season (2020), Herbert hasn't missed a game, and he played through a rib injury last season.

The Chargers are coming off a 10-7 season that saw them make the playoffs for the first time since 2018, but they then went on to blow a 27-0 lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC wild-card round.

On Thursday's edition of "The Herd," Colin Cowherd commended Herbert's resiliency with the Chargers.

"I think a great example of a franchise quarterback [is] do you overcome?" Cowherd said. "Go back to Herbert's first year (2020), [his] offensive line was the worst in the league, [he still had] 31 touchdowns, 10 picks. [He] found out five minutes before [the game] he was starting against Patrick Mahomes because of a medical staff mishap and went toe-to-toe with Mahomes.

"The great ones win. They find a way. They overcome."

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