The Eagles have DeVonta Smith on the books through a lucrative extension, but the same is now true of fellow wideout A.J. Brown. The latter has agreed to a three-year, $96M extension, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. The team has since announced the move.
This deal, which Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio suggested earlier Thursday night would become public, carries the highest AAV in league history amongst wideouts ($32M). Rapoport adds Brown will collect $84M in total guarantees, which is also a new watermark at the position. The three-time Pro Bowler is now under contract through the 2029 campaign.
Philadelphia became the first team in NFL history to extend a first-round wideout in his first year of eligibility during the fifth-year option era when they inked Smith to a three-year, $75M pact. That contract comes in addition to his 2025 option year, and eyebrows were raised when he landed an AAV matching that of Brown. The latter had been attached to the four-year, $100M pact he signed upon arrival from the Titans during the first round of the draft two years ago.
The $25M annual average value of that agreement placed Brown in a tie for fourth amongst receivers as of the Smith agreement being worked out. As the position’s market continues to point upward (as demonstrated by yesterday’s decision by the Lions to extend Amon-Ra St. Brown), Brown will once again benefit. The 26-year-old has proven to be a vital member of the Eagles’ offense, posting 2,952 yards and 18 touchdowns in two Philadelphia seasons.
Considering his production, Brown’s scheduled 2024 cap hit of $12.38M represents a bargain. It will be interesting to see if that figure changes as a a result of this new deal, but in any event future cap numbers could be reduced. Heading into Thursday, the Ole Miss product was due to count $26.5M and $41.5M in 2025 and 2026, respectively. Flattening out those hits will likely be a by-product of today’s move.
In any case, this agreement marks the latest of several massive investments made by the Eagles on the offensive side of the ball this offseason. Along with Smith, Brown joins left tackle Jordan Mailata and left tackle Landon Dickerson in landing monster new contracts recently. He will be counted on to continue producing top-tier production in the passing game, and the ongoing presence of many of Philadelphia’s foundational offensive contributors makes it likely that will be the case.
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