Justin Herbert, Chargers agree to five-year extension

The evening before the Chargers hit the practice field in Costa Mesa, Calif., to kick off training camp, the team has locked in its star quarterback Justin Herbert to a five-year, $262.5M contract extension, making Herbert the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, per ESPN.

The deal keeps Herbert in L.A. through the 2029 season.

There were two years remaining on Herbert's rookie contract, including a fifth-year option in 2024 that would have come with a $29.5M cap hit. The extension opens the door for Chargers general manager Tom Telesco to reduce Herbert's cap hit for 2024, a necessity with L.A. projected to be $60.577M over the cap for that season.

Herbert's deal comes in at half a million dollars more on average per year than that of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who signed his extension back in May.

Herbert is the second quarterback from the 2020 draft class to earn a second contract, the first being Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who signed a five-year, $255M extension back in April.

Next up is Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who is thought to have been waiting for Herbert to sign his extension before inking a deal of his own. Burrow's next deal will come in just above the benchmark set by Herbert.

Drafted by the Chargers with the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Herbert set the rookie record for passing touchdowns with 31, threw the fourth-most passing yards ever by a rookie quarterback with 4,336, and won the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Herbert is 25-24 as a starting quarterback. He made his playoff debut this past season in L.A.'s wild-card loss to the Jaguars, a game they at one point led 27-0.