How Joe Burrow could determine Justin Herbert's next contract

The time has come for the 2020 quarterback draft class to be paid. Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts cashed in first, earning a five-year, $255M contract extension from the Eagles earlier this offseason.

Next up are Cincinnati's Joe Burrow, Miami's Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers. Logically, Burrow should be the first of the trio to get an extension. He has accomplished the most of the group, leading the Bengals to back-to-back AFC title games and one Super Bowl, but with training camp less than a month away, Burrow still doesn't have an extension.

Paul Dehner Jr., Bengals writer for The Athletic, explained what may be the issue: "I do think waiting for Herbert is part of the holdup. The idea of Burrow making less than Herbert is silly given what each has accomplished."

From Los Angeles' standpoint, this logic could go both ways. If the Chargers wait on Burrow's extension with Cincinnati, a deal for Herbert — who has zero playoff wins — should be easy to peg at just below whatever the average per year of the Burrow deal.

Part of the issue is Hurts' contract with the Eagles. While the Bengals, Dolphins and Chargers have the benefit of the fifth-year option with their young quarterbacks, the Eagles did not. Thus, 2023 would have been a contract year for Hurts had Philadelphia not extended the former second-round pick earlier this offseason (with the option to use the franchise tag next offseason, of course). Hurts did not seek a fully guaranteed contract, as Cleveland gave to Deshaun Watson.

With a far greater résumé than Watson and a better one than Hurts, Burrow could seek a fully or near-fully guaranteed contract. Should Burrow pull that off, a Herbert deal would likely use Hurts' contract as the barometer rather than Burrow's. In that case, the Chargers will have wished they signed Herbert sooner instead of waiting.

Either way, the standstill between the Bengals and Chargers must be resolved before the season, as they won't want to enter 2023 with their young quarterbacks not having long-term contracts despite the window to sign them being wide open.