Report: Contract talks between Eagles, Zach Ertz come to ‘abrupt halt’
A new deal between the Philadelphia Eagles and tight end Zach Ertz isn’t expected to come anytime soon.
Negotiations between Ertz and the Eagles came to “an abrupt halt” on Thursday, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Sources: Negotiations between the #Eagles and TE Zach Ertz came to an abrupt halt when PHI made an offer that had less guaranteed money than their offer in November. The backloaded offer also had less cash over the next 4 seasons annually than Austin Hooper’s #Browns contract.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 3, 2020
The Eagles reportedly made Ertz an offer that included both less guaranteed money than the previous offer they made to him in November, and less than the deal that Cleveland Browns tight end Austin Hooper signed earlier this summer.
Ertz recorded 916 yards and six touchdowns on 88 receptions last season, his seventh in the league. The 29-year-old racked up more than 1,100 yards on 116 receptions during the Eagles’ Super Bowl run in 2018, too, and has earn Pro Bowl nods the past three seasons.
Ertz has two years left on his five-year deal with the team. He is set to earn $6.6 million in base salary this year and $8.25 next year.
Ertz is next in line to get paid
While there isn’t a huge rush for the Eagles to get this done now, as he’s got two years left on his contract, Ertz is the next tight end in the league in line to get paid.
The San Francisco 49ers made George Kittle the highest-paid tight end in the league last month when they agreed to a five-year, $75 million extension. The Kansas City Chiefs followed suit just hours later with Travis Kelce. The two sides agreed to a four-year extension that will pay him between $14 and $15 million a season.
Hooper signed a four-year, $42 million deal to join the Browns earlier this summer, too. At the time, that made him the highest-paid tight end in the league — though Kittle’s and Kelce’s deal shattered that mark.
It’s unclear when the two sides will return to the table. But with time still left on his contract — and Dallas Goedert still on his rookie deal after an impressive first two seasons with the organization — it would make sense if that doesn’t happen anytime soon.
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