Goedert agrees to 4-year extension
$35 million guaranteed for productive tight end
The Eagles agreed to a four-year contract extension through 2025 with Dallas Goedert that will make him one of the highest-paid tight ends in the league.
The team announced the deal Friday, which is worth up to $59 million with $35.7 million guaranteed, according to a league source.
“This is a really special day,” Goedert said. “It’s something you dream about when you get into the league. I’m just really thankful for the organization.”
Goedert, 26, became the Eagles’ clearcut No. 1 tight end last month after the team traded Zach Ertz to the Arizona Cardinals and now he has cashed in. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, but expressed a desire to stay with the Eagles going into the season.
When asked why he didn’t choose to test the market in free agency this offseason, Goedert said he knew he wanted to stay with the team, but also conceded the Eagles’ offer improved since the start of the regular season.
“It’s changed a little bit, it went up,” Goedert said of the offer. “but we’re really excited with it, I think both sides are happy. Like I said, I’m just really thankful, really happy, I love playing in Philadelphia. These fans always bring passion and just to be here, the same place I started my career in, for another four years, it’s pretty special.”
Goedert has 29 catches for 429 yards and two touchdowns so far this season and is on pace to set a career high with 14.8 yards per reception. He’s on track to play Sunday after suffering a concussion in the Eagles’ 30-13 win over the Denver Broncos last weekend.
Goedert ranks second in yards per route run behind only George Kittle, tracked by Pro Football Focus, and is their highest-graded receiving tight end so far this year.
“He’s the type of guy you want to succeed and to sign contracts like this to keep in the building,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “I’m really excited for him and his family and just the organization that we can get this done.”
The Eagles drafted Goedert out of South Dakota State in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft with the plan to use him alongside Ertz and eventually take over as the No. 1 tight end. During the first three years of his career, the team heavily deployed 12-personnel with him and Ertz sharing the field, which limited his production a bit as Ertz took the majority of the targets.
Partly because of his role as the No. 2 to Ertz, Goedert has developed into one of the better blocking tight ends in the league. He ranked second in PFF’s blocking grades for tight ends in both 2019 and 2020. He ranked eighth in 2018.
Still, Goedert flashed potential as a receiving target, especially when featured in the offense. Last year, he had 46 catches for 523 yards and two touchdowns while Ertz battled through an injury.
“He does a lot of things really well, I think that’s what’s special about Dallas, “Sirianni said. “He’s not a receiving tight end, he’s not a blocking tight end, he can do both. There’s not a lot of guys like that, that are exceptional at being able to create mismatches in the pass game and also get the job done in the run game.”
At roughly $14.75 million per year, Goedert’s deal should rank second behind Kittle in average annual value; he’s just ahead of Travis Kelce at $14.3 million. The salary cap is expected to rise considerably in the offseason, though.
Goedert said being paid like one of the best tight ends in the league was important to him.
“I believe really highly in myself,” Goedert said. “I believe I’m one of the best tight ends in the league. I’m always going to have that mindset, but to be paid up there, I feel like the respect that the team showed me, it’s just really cool. They see the hard work that I put in day in and day out, to believe that ... it’s just a really cool feeling and I’m thankful that they see what I can do.”
Goedert’s deal comes in just ahead of the one the Ravens signed Mark Andrews to earlier this season. Andrews got $56 million with $37 million guaranteed.
He’s the same age and his stats are slightly better than Goedert’s. The 2018 third-round pick had 58 catches for 701 yards last season and surpassed the 800-yard mark the season before.
The Eagles have now signed three of the five players they took in the 2018 draft this season. They signed Jordan Mailata to a four-year, $64-million deal before the season opener and signing Josh Sweat to a three-year, $40-million extension a few weeks later. Avonte Maddox, Goedert’s housemate and close friend, is another member of the ‘18 draft class and is in the midst of a career year.
After news of Goedert’s extension came to light, Maddox took to social media to say Goedert was responsible for their dinner checks for the next 30 years.
“Golly, I feel like I’ve been paying for Avonte’s food for the last four years,” Goedert said. “Another 30 ain’t gonna hurt it.”