Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith took some digital flack for inking a new deal earlier this offseason before the wideout market exploded.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, teammate A.J. Brown, Jaylen Waddle and Justin Jefferson have all signed deals since Smith inked his three-year, $75 million extension, pushing the 25-year-old to eighth in average pay per year among wideouts.
Had Smith waited until others moved the market forward, he could have potentially made more than $25 million per year in new money. However, the Eagles wideout isn't fretting about his payday.
"No, man. No. You can't be counting the pockets of others," he said Tuesday, via Bleeding Green Nation. "I'm where I want to be. This is where I wanted to be, and at the end of the day, it was still life-changing for me.
"Those guys who have got their deals, they deserve it -- great players and great people. At the end of the day, we're all blessed."
As long as Smith is content with his contract, who are we to scold?
Perhaps you can quibble with the fact that Smith gave up leverage by signing a deal that puts him under contract for the next five years, but that first big NFL payday is a milestone for every player. Smith got his. The rolling guarantee structure gives Smith some security, barring a catastrophic injury. It's also a contract that both sides could look to rework in a few years, depending on how things play out.
The deal underscores the smart strategy by Howie Roseman and the Eagles front office to get in front of second deals for its key players. It only gets more expensive the longer teams wait.
