Zach Ertz is looking to be paid like one of the top tight ends in the NFL, while the Philadelphia Eagles are looking for him to take a discount amid a serious salary-cap crunch.
Ertz and the Eagles had resumed discussions on a contract extension after the 49ers gave George Kittle a five-year, $75 million deal, and the Chiefs gave Travis Kelce a four-year, $57 million deal to help reset the tight end market while giving Philadelphia a basepoint for Ertz’s negotiations.
Those negotiations are off according to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, with both NFL media members reporting that the Eagles offered Ertz less money than they had during the previous negotiations and less than what the Browns gave Austin Hooper.
The Travis Kelce effect. Well, it looks like the #Eagles and Zach Ertz will be done talking for a while. Ertz has two years left on his deal and we’ll see where it goes from here. https://t.co/jc8ujBLwO8
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 3, 2020
Kelce’s deal is worth between $14 million and $15 million per year in new money average, similar to Kittle’s $15 million per year average.
Ertz finished the last season third among tight ends in receptions (88), fourth in yards (916), and tied for fourth in touchdowns (6).
During the past three seasons, Ertz ranks third in receptions (278), third in yards (2,903), and second in touchdowns (22). That normally would make the case for Ertz to get a similar deal to his two counterparts, but Kittle is younger and more dynamic than both his counterparts, while the Eagles now have the pleasure of extending two top-10 tight ends.
Ertz reportedly turned down a deal that would have paid him $10.5 million per year with two years left on his current deal.
Ertz’s legacy puts pressure on the Eagles and a guy who’ll be the all-time receptions leader, a future Hall of Famer and caught the game-winning score in a franchise’s first Super Bowl usually gets the benefit of the doubt in regards to a team wanting him to retire in that one cingular jersey.
The Eagles can let 2020 play out and see where Ertz stands physically after turning 30-years of age or they can strike now and lock up both of their star tight ends using the leverage of legacy and playing for one team to help get a hometown discount from Ertz.
The Eagles could easily give Ertz a three-year, $39 million extension, with about $22 million guaranteed, ensuring that the star tight end will eclipse $10 million per season while still getting paid like the third-best tight end in the NFL.
The move would reduce Ertz’s almost $13 million salary-cap hits for 2020 and 2021 while freeing up money for his running mate.
