The Eagles have picked up Carson Wentz’s fifth-year option as a 2016 first-round pick for the 2020 season.
No surprise here.
This move is simply an insurance policy as the Eagles try to sign Wentz to a long-term deal.
Every first-round player has a fifth-year option written into their contract. Nelson Agholor is about to play this season on his. If Wentz does play the 2020 season on this fifth-year option, he’ll make $22,783,000 that season with a cap hit to match. But it seems likely the two sides will have worked out a long-term extension by then. The fifth-year option money is guaranteed for injury now, but it’s not guaranteed in full until the start of the league year in 2020.
That $22-plus million figure is because Wentz was a top-10 draft pick. It’s the average of the top-10 salaries at the position in the fourth year of Wentz’s contract (so it’s the same number as the transition tag). The Rams already picked up Jared Goff’s fifth-year option, so he’s also in line to make the same $22-plus million in 2020 if he doesn’t get a long-term deal before then.
In the fourth year of his rookie contract this coming season, Wentz is set to have a base salary of just $720,000 but will make over $3 million in roster bonus money. His cap hit is $8.49 million in 2019.
Picking up the option before the May 2 deadline, just gives the Eagles some extra breathing room to get a deal done.
NFL
Wentz is entering a big year in 2019 after missing the end of the last two seasons. The Eagles are certainly hoping he returns to his MVP-level form from 2017. If there’s no extension before the start of this season, there could be a lot of money riding on this upcoming year.
The Eagles drafted Wentz with the second-overall pick back in 2016 and this is the first offseason in which they could possibly sign him to an extension. The Eagles haven’t been shy about their desire to get that done. Whether it happens this year or next, barring something totally unforeseen, the Eagles are going to sign Wentz to a long-term extension.
It seems unlikely he’ll ever play the 2020 season on this fifth-year option, but at least the Eagles know he’ll definitely be under contract for at least two more seasons.
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