Jalen Carter Signs $152M Eagles Deal: NFL's Richest DT

The Philadelphia Eagles announced on Tuesday that they have agreed to a four-year contract extension with defensive tackle Jalen Carter, keeping the 25-year-old under contract through the 2031 season and making him the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history. Carter's agents, Drew and Jason Rosenhaus, confirmed the financial terms: $152 million with $106 million guaranteed and escalators that could push the total to $160 million an average annual value of $38 million.

Breaking the Defensive Tackle Market

At $38 million per year and $106 million guaranteed, Carter clears both benchmarks set by the previous record holder. Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons reset the market just weeks earlier with a deal carrying $35.3 million in annual value and $100 million in guarantees, per NFL.com. Carter's extension surpasses both figures, as reported at the time of signing.

Philadelphia now holds two of the top-paid interior defensive linemen in the league. In March 2026, the Eagles signed Carter's line partner Jordan Davis to a three-year, $78 million extension with $65 million guaranteed, per NFL.com. Davis's deal carries an average annual value of $26 million Carter's new rate is roughly 46 percent higher, a reflection of how differently the market values elite pass-rush production from the inside.

What Carter Has Delivered in Three Seasons

Carter arrived in Philadelphia when the Eagles traded up from No. 10 to select him ninth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft by swapping picks with Chicago. The Georgia product came with elite college tape and a reputation for collapsing pockets and his first three professional seasons confirmed both claims.

Across 43 games and 27 starts with Philadelphia, Carter has compiled 108 combined tackles, 13.5 sacks, 13 passes defensed, and four forced fumbles, per the Eagles' official roster page. He earned Pro Bowl selections in his second and third seasons the 2024 and 2025 campaigns and was named second-team All-Pro in 2024, the year the Eagles won Super Bowl LIX.

In 2025, injuries reduced his availability to 11 games. He still posted 33 combined tackles, three sacks, and seven passes defensed. Shoulder treatment in early December sidelined him for three games before he returned for the regular-season finale against the Buffalo Bills, and he remained a disruptive presence when healthy.

The extension's new money begins in 2028. Carter will play the 2026 season under the final year of his original rookie deal, worth approximately $3.7 million, then the 2027 season under his fifth-year option, which the Eagles exercised in April 2026 at a value of $27.1 million, as confirmed by the Eagles. The extension money then runs from 2028 through 2031.

The Interior Strategy Philadelphia Is Betting On

Philadelphia is building from the inside out. With Carter and Davis locked in together through at least 2029 Davis through 2029, Carter through 2031 the Eagles have secured the core of a defensive front that led one of the most suffocating defences in the NFC during their Super Bowl run.

Carter's 37 quarterback hits across three seasons reflect consistent pressure generation that does not spike and disappear. The Eagles' extension announcement cited interior pressure production tracked by Pro Football Focus, including 45 quarterback pressures in the 2024 season alone when Carter led the team's defensive line in pressures, quarterback hits, and tackles for loss, per the team's official announcement.

At 25 and with his prime production seasons still ahead of him, Carter enters the extension years at an earlier point in his career arc than most players at comparable contract values. His birthday falls in April, meaning he will turn 26 after the 2026 regular season ends he turns 30 before the final year of the extension in 2031. That trajectory separates this deal from contracts signed for interior linemen already in their late twenties.

The Background the Market Weighed

Carter's path to this contract ran through serious early scrutiny. Before the 2023 draft, he entered the process after a fatal car crash in Athens, Georgia, on January 15, 2023, following the national championship celebrations for the Georgia Bulldogs. Devin Willock and Chandler LeCroy died in the incident.

Carter was not in the vehicle that crashed. He had been racing in a separate car. He entered no-contest pleas to charges of racing and reckless driving. Athens-Clarke County Solicitor General Will Fleenor confirmed that Carter received 12 months of probation, a $1,000 fine, 50 hours of community service, a defensive driving course requirement, and a 120-day suspension of his Georgia driving privileges. Some teams reportedly removed him from their draft boards entirely.

Philadelphia did not remove him. The Eagles traded up to select him ninth overall two months after the plea, and within two years he had a Super Bowl ring.

In 2025, Carter drew fresh scrutiny when he spat on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott during the season-opening game. The NFL confirmed that his ejection before playing a single snap counted as the one-game suspension already served, and he forfeited a $57,222 game check. Carter described the incident as "a mistake" and said it would not happen again. The penalty drew wide attention but did not affect his career statistics or his availability beyond that ejection.

Both episodes were part of the record the Eagles evaluated when signing the largest defensive tackle contract in NFL history.

What Comes Next

Carter is now under contract through the Eagles' 2031 season. Philadelphia's defensive front, anchored by two long-term commitments at the interior, gives the franchise a defined identity at a position group that often rotates every few years.

The offensive side presents a different picture. The Eagles traded wide receiver A.J. Brown during the offseason and enter 2026 with a rebuilt receiving corps around quarterback Jalen Hurts. Whether Philadelphia can build enough around this defensive core to compete for another Super Bowl is the question the upcoming season will begin to answer the Carter contract makes clear where the organisation believes its foundation sits.