Jalen Hurts

Jalen Hurts is a quarterback who currently plays for the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League. Jalen Hurts is one of the best dual threat quarterbacks in the league as of now. He recently spearheaded the Eagles to an appearance in Super Bowl LVII where they lost narrowly against the Kansas City Chiefs. Hurts has been honored with a Pro-Bowl in 2022 and was also the recipient of the Bert Bell award in the same year.

Jalen Hurts was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2020 NFL Draft and he recently became the highest paid player in NFL history (in terms of average annual salary) after signing a humongous contract with the Eagles in April 2023. Hurts had a breakout season in 2022 where he led the Eagles to the Championship and also was the runner up for the NFL MVP award. The young quarterback’s accolades exceed his experience in the league and is a major reason he landed such a lucrative contract extension with the Eagles.

Jalen Hurts Early Life and Background

Jalen Hurts is a Texas native born in Houston on August 7, 1998. Hurts attended the Channelview High School in Houston. Throughout his school career, Jalen Hurts’ father, Averion, served as the football coach at Channelview High School. He rushed for 1,391 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior while also passing for 2,384 yards and 26 touchdowns. During his high school playing career, Hurts was a second-team all-district pick as a sophomore. He was also named the District 21-6A Overall MVP. Throughout his high school career, he competed against Texas A&M freshman star running back Trayveon Williams. Hurts was a four-star prospect out of high school and one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the 2016 class.

As a sophomore Jalen Hurts was also into other sports like powerlifting and even competed in the 198-kg powerlifting weight class. He also went on to become a regional finalist in the sport.

Jalen Hurts committed to join the fabled Alabama Crimson Tide football team at the University of Alabama in 2016. He was also pursuing a B.A. in communication and information sciences at the University.

Jalen Hurts was a true freshman for the Crimson Tide and even got named as the starting quarterback for the team in the second game of the season (he continued to be so since). Hurts was the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the team in 32 years. Under the direction of head coach Nick Saban, Hurts had a remarkable rookie campaign. He completed 2,780 passes for 23 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. His quarterback rating by the end of his rookie season was 139.12, and his completion rate was 62.8 percent. Steadman Shealy's previous mark of 791 yards was surpassed by him as he carried for a total of 954 yards and 13 touchdowns, shattering the school record for a quarterback's single-season rushing yardage. He broke Blake Sims's previous Crimson Tide single-season record (35) for touchdowns with 36 total touchdowns at the end of the 2016 campaign.

Hurts continued his remarkable college career going into his sophomore season too, leading the Crimson Tide to an 11-1 regular season. He finished his sophomore season with 2,081 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, and one interception to go along with 855 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns, However, Hurts was benched in the 2017 CFP National Championship game in favor of Tua Tagovailoa who led the Crimson Tide to a comeback victory against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Hurts was not a regular starter in his junior season in 2018 and played second fiddle to Tua Tagovailoa. In the 2018 SEC Championship Game, he relieved an injured Tagovailoa and led the team to a comeback victory against Georgia. Alabama moved to 13–0 and secured a spot in the Playoff.

Hurts announced that he would transfer to the University of Oklahoma for his senior college football season. He was eligible to play for the Oklahoma Sooners as he was a graduate transfer.

Hurts broke Baker Mayfield's previous record of 396 total yards against Akron in 2015 when he played in his first game as a Sooner, amassing 508 total yards against Houston on September 1, 2019, his first game as a Sooner. Hurts assisted Oklahoma in starting the season 7-0. Hurts assisted Oklahoma in winning the Big 12 title and earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. The 2019 Peach Bowl loss against LSU, 63-28, marked the end of the Sooners' season. Hurts had a productive season with the Sooners, finishing with 1,298 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns in addition to 3,851 passing yards, 32 passing touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He came in second place behind Joe Burrow in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Who Drafted Jalen Hurts ?

Jalen Hurts was not one of the highest rated quarterback prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft Class. He was selected 53rd overall in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Hurts was originally drafted as a third string quarterback for the Eagles behind Carson Wentz and Nate Sudfield.

Jalen Hurts’ NFL Journey

Jalen Hurts is a relatively young quarterback in the NFL having completed only his third season in the league. The lethal dual-threat quarterback started his NFL career as a third choice quarterback for the Eagles.

He was promoted from the team's third-string quarterback to the second-string position swiftly so he could be used in games as a decoy quarterback or for quarterback running plays. Hurts took over as the team's starting quarterback towards the end of his first season in 2020 when Carson Wentz's effectiveness dipped. From that point on, he was the starter, and in the 2022–2023 season, he even guided the Eagles to the playoffs.

Hurts was named the starting quarterback by the 2021 NFL season. He suffered an ankle injury in a Week 12 loss against the New York Giants but returned by Week 15 to help the Philadelphia Eagles qualify for a Playoff berth.

Hurts’ best season for the Philadelphia Eagles was the 2022-23 NFL season where he became the first Eagles player since 2017 to win an NFC Offensive player of the month award (in September). The Eagles were on an 8-0 win record when Hurts became the first Eagles’ quarterback to lead them to such a record. In the 2022-23 season Jalen Hurts was one of the five finalists in the NFL MVP voting and he also received his first Pro-Bowl honor. Hurts was named in the second team All-Pro. Hurts led the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance against the Kansas City Chiefs (Super Bowl LVII) which they lost narrowly (38-35).

In April 2023, the Eagles extended Jalen Hurts’ contract by 5-years making him the highest paid player in the NFL in terms of average annual salary.

Jalen Hurts Teams

(H3) Philadelphia Eagles (2020-Present)

Jalen Hurts was drafted as a third choice QB by the Eagles in the 2020 NFL Draft but by the end of his rookie season he became a starter for the team. Hurts made his first NFL start on December 8, 2020 in a Week 14 game of the 2020 NFL Season against the New Orleans Saints. Hurts finished with 338 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, 63 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in the 33–26 loss.

In the 2021 NFL season Hurts took the No. 1 jersey in the team after the departure of Cameron Johnston. Hurts also became the starting QB for the team under head coach NIck Sirianni. Hurts set a single-season team record in 2022 while playing for the Eagles with 4,461 total yards. He also shared the record for the most touchdowns (35) in a single season in team history with Randall Cunningham (1990). Hurts currently ranks second among quarterbacks in NFL history in terms of rushing touchdowns (13) behind only Cam Newton in 2011 (14). He has become the first NFL QB to post 10+ rushing TDs in consecutive seasons, doing so in 2021 (10) and 2022 (13).

The 2022 season has been the best season for Hurt so far. In just his second full season as a starter, he crafted one of the most successful seasons in the team's history, leading the Eagles to Super Bowl LVII. He later won the Associated Press NFL MVP runner-up award, second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors, and other awards. He finished the regular season with a record of 14-1 when starting, completing 306 of 460 passes (66.5%) for 3,701 yards (8.1 average). He completed 22 touchdown passes, had six interceptions, and had a passer rating of 101.5. He also ran 165 times for 760 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns, which is the second-most by an NFL quarterback ever. Jalen Hurts overall combined for 4,461 total yards, a team record, and tied an Eagles record with 35 total touchdowns.

In Super Bowl LVII, Jalen Hurts became just the eighth Black quarterback to get the start. Hurts and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes headlined the first Super Bowl to have two starting Black quarterbacks.

Jalen Hurts Awards and Achievements

Jalen Hurts Net Worth

Jalen Hurts has a net worth of around $30 million. Hurts signed a rookie contract with the Eagles in 2020 and added considerably to his net worth since his breakout season in 2022. Jalen Hurts penned a hefty deal with the Eagles which will see a massive increase in his net worth over the years. He has also added to his net worth through various endorsement deals with brands such as Pepsi, Gillette, Kellog’s and many more.

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Jalen Hurts Contract

Jalen Hurts is currently the highest paid player in the NFL after signing a 5-year contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles in April 2023. He penned a $255 million deal with the Eagles which keeps him with the team till 2028. He became the highest paid player in terms of average annual salary as he will be earning around $51 million per season while having a guaranteed contract amount of $179.3 million.

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Jalen Hurts Family

Jalen Hurts was born to Averion Hurts Sr. and Pamela Hurts. He also has an elder brother named Averion Jr. and a younger sister named Kynnedy. Prior to becoming a college football coach at the University of Alabama, his brother, Averion Jr., started as quarterback for the Texas Southern University football team. Averion Hurts Sr. had been Jalen’s football coach all throughout his school career and is a major reason behind his success today. Hurts has been a supporter of gender equality in sports, and his social media, communications, marketing, and sports agent teams are entirely composed of women.

Jalen Hurts has also been in a relationship with his girlfriend Bryonna “Bry” Burrow since his college days. They met while he was a student of the University of Alabama and have been together ever since. However, he likes to keep his relationship under the wraps and has been very private with his personal life.

Jalen Hurts Super Bowl Wins

Jalen Hurts made his first Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl LVII (2023). After a stellar season with the Philadelphia Eagles, Hurts led the team to a Super Bowl matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. Philadelphia scored the most points by a losing team in the Super Bowl with 35 points, losing narrowly to the Chiefs who scored 38.

Hurts completed 27 out of his 38 pass attempts with one touchdown pass and 304 total passing yards. He had a passer rating of 103.4. Hurts’ quest for the Vince Lombardi trophy continues as the young quarterback has many more seasons to compete for the most prestigious title in the NFL.