Philadelphia Eagles and DeSean Jackson extend association for five more years – NFL News
A surprisingly pleasing development for wide receiver, DeSean Jackson, came on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, when Philadelphia Eagles gave him a five-year deal that will run through to 2016 season.
The value of deal is reportedly worth around $48.5 million.
Jackson started his professional National Football League (NFL) career with Eagles in 2008 after signing a four-year rookie contract.
A couple of weeks ago, Eagles placed their franchise tag on the player to prevent him from hitting the free agency. Under the franchise tag, Jackson was supposed to earn $9.4 million in 2012.
Both parties had hoped to negotiate a long-term deal in near future, but little did anyone know that a new deal would come so soon.
After giving Jackson the new deal, Eagles’ head coach, Andy Reid commented:
"We are thrilled to be able to keep one of the NFL's top playmakers in Philadelphia.”
He added:
“DeSean is a game breaker, he has the speed and ability to score from anywhere on the field, and he has proven himself to be a big threat for our offence. Signing our own players was a big priority for us this offseason and DeSean was certainly high on our
list. We are very excited about his future as an Eagle."
In his four-year career, Jackson has already been named to the prestigious Pro Bowl squad twice. His performance in the last season, however, was below par.
Jackson was benched for one game by the head coach after the player missed a team meeting. Besides, his overall record was also not up to the expectations. In 15 games of the regular season, he rushed for 961 yards on 58 receptions while scoring four touchdowns.
After the end of the season, he admitted that the expiring contract was a cause of distraction for him and he also expressed a desire to stay with the team for a ‘long time’.
He expressed the same hopes after receiving the franchise tag and said:
"I am honoured that the Philadelphia Eagles organisation perceives me as a franchise player. I look forward to getting a long-term deal done soon.”
Now that all the issues regarding Jackson’s contract are resolved, Eagles are hoping a better performance from him in the next season.
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