After an offseason defined by uncertainty, the Philadelphia Eagles have reached an agreement with Jalen Carter on a record-breaking four-year, $152 million extension. The deal includes $106 million guaranteed and keeps Carter under contract through the 2031 season.
Carter had been the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason, but general manager Howie Roseman chose to pay the former Georgia star, just months after extending fellow defensive tackle Jordan Davis on a three-year, $78 million deal.
Jalen Carter Becomes NFL’s Highest-Paid Defensive Tackle
Carter’s $38 million average annual value of salary puts him comfortably ahead of every other defensive tackle in the league. Jeffery Simmons ($35.276 million), Chris Jones ($31.75 million), and Dexter Lawrence ($28 million) are all ranked behind him.
According to Spotrac, Carter will carry a cap hit of just $6.9 million in 2026, giving Philadelphia immediate flexibility before the larger figures kick in.
When the Eagles traded up one spot with the Chicago Bears to select Carter ninth overall in the 2023 draft, they did so knowing the risk. Character concerns followed him out of Georgia, and multiple teams passed on him, but Philadelphia knew that their team could get the best out of Carter, which they have done so far.
Breaking: Eagles are signing two-time Pro-Bowl selection Jalen Carter to a four-year, $152 million extension worth up to $160 million, including $106 million guaranteed that now makes him the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history, per his agents Drew and Jason Rosenhaus.… pic.twitter.com/R8VZfbsKTy
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 28, 2026
Carter’s production has validated the gamble, as he logged six sacks as a rookie, then followed it with 4.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and a second-team All-Pro selection in 2024 while playing an instrumental role in the Eagles’ Super Bowl 59 championship run.
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Injuries limited him to 11 regular-season games in 2025, but he still recorded 33 tackles, three sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and seven passes defended en route to his second consecutive Pro Bowl nod. Across his first three seasons, Carter has totaled 108 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 25 tackles for loss, and 37 quarterback hits in 43 games.
According to PFN’s DT Impact Metric, he ranked third at his position in 2024 with an impact score of 87.8. However, last season he slipped to 12th place with an impact score of 81.3.
The one blemish that drew national attention to Carter was the Week 1 spitting incident against Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, which resulted in Carter’s ejection before a single defensive snap in the 2025 season opener.
He was fined $57,222 and received a retroactive one-game suspension that the league considered served. Carter apologized after the game, telling reporters it was a mistake that wouldn’t happen again, and he largely backed that up by avoiding further disciplinary issues for the remainder of the season.
With Carter and Davis locked in for the foreseeable future, alongside offensive stars like Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, and Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia will remain a legitimate Super Bowl contender for years to come.
