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Front Office Sports - The Memo

Morning Edition

February 10, 2025

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The Eagles put on one of the most dominant Super Bowl performances in history, beating a Chiefs team that previously kept finding ways to win. Philadelphia has long been one of the NFL’s best-run franchises, and could provide competitors with a new model of how to spend.

David Rumsey and Dennis Young

Eagles Vanquish Chiefs in Super Bowl, Highlight Salary-Cap Magic

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Eagles denied the Chiefs a historic three-peat in Super Bowl LIX, thanks to a savvy team-building approach from one of the league’s most revered GMs, Howie Roseman.

Sunday night’s 40-22 victory over Kansas City gave Philadelphia its second Lombardi Trophy, and validated the franchise’s commitment to new-age roster construction—a testament to owner Jeffrey Lurie’s belief in his front office.

“Credit to our coaching staff led by Nick [Sirianni], Howie and his staff, unbelievable,” Lurie said after the win. “And by the way, about 200 other people that are the support staff that you’ll never hear about.”

Led by quarterback Jalen Hurts (this year’s Super Bowl MVP) and Saquon Barkley, this Eagles roster was built to win now, and relied on a burgeoning new salary cap technique to do it—the implementation of void years. Those stretch a player’s cap hit past the seasons included in his contract to ensure additional cap space in the short term.

And while the Eagles already have more than $1.2 billion in cap allocations between 2025 and 2030—the most in the NFL—much of their core is young. Hurts, Barkley, and receiver A.J. Brown are all under 30 years old and have multiple years left on their contracts. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter and defensive backs Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell are early in their rookie deals.

Signing on the Dotted Line

Roseman and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni are now likely in for contract extensions that should come with huge raises, as both of their deals are set to expire after the 2025 season.

Sirianni has been making $7 million per season, while Roseman’s salary is unknown. 

The Eagles will likely be looking for a new offensive coordinator, though, as Kellen Moore is believed to be taking the Saints head coaching position, which was the final head coach vacancy in the NFL this year. Philadelphia will retain its defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, who signed a three-year contract with the team last offseason.

Chiefs Face Uncertain Stadium Future After Three-Peat Denied

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

While the Chiefs were unable to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls, they will likely be just fine on the field. 

Patrick Mahomes continues to go against the trend of star quarterbacks squeezing as much money as they can out of their teams, and instead helps Kansas City manage its salary cap. Andry Reid, the league’s highest-paid head coach, has said he is returning for another season, and doesn’t appear to have retirement in his mind any time soon.

Off the field, though, the Chiefs have a lot of work to do, as another offseason will shine a bright spotlight on the franchise’s contentious efforts to raise local support for renovations to Arrowhead Stadium.

Last April, voters in Jackson County, Mo., denied a proposal that would have created a new ⅜-cent sales tax mechanism over 40 years to generate as much as $2 billion to help renovate Arrowhead Stadium and fund a new ballpark for the Royals. While there’s no guarantee a three-peat would have swung future support in favor of the Chiefs, Sunday’s loss still means one less bargaining chip for the NFL team.

Last week, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said the franchise would need to make a decision on its stadium future “in the fairly near future,” as its lease expires in 2031. 

The Chiefs are also hoping to build a new training facility that could cost as much as $450 million. However, that process won’t begin until the team sorts out its stadium situation. 

Despite the disappointing conclusion to the season, though, the Chiefs are set to remain one of the NFL’s most popular teams. They have become the league’s top TV draw, and are estimated to be worth nearly $5 billion. While they won’t be going for four in a row in 2025, a Kansas City revenge tour may very well be must-see TV, too.

Pricey Contracts, Stadium Talks Will Heat Up NFL Offseason

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

With Super Bowl LIX in the books, the NFL offseason is officially underway. 

And with more than 200 days until the Eagles kick off the 2025 regular season, decisions on pricey contracts for some star players, and negotiations for new stadium projects, are set to play out this spring and summer.

Quarterback Money

The deadline for NFL teams to place the franchise tag on a player is March 4. 

The most expensive candidate is Sam Darnold, who led the Vikings to a 14–3 record during the regular season while playing on a one-year, $10 million contract. Using the franchise tag on Darnold would cost roughly $40 million. An extension could be worth as much as $160 million over four years. Minnesota has rising second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who tore his meniscus during the preseason after being selected 10th in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

Meanwhile, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is finally eligible for a contract extension, entering the fourth year of his rookie deal. Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, made $2.88 million during his first three seasons, but based on other young QBs who signed recent deals, could be in line for a four-year extension worth around $200 million.

Skill Players at A Premium

Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons is set to make $24 million playing on his fifth-year club option. But Dallas is hoping to extend Parsons, and potentially make him the highest-paid player at his position (potentially a four-year, $180 million deal), after giving huge deals to quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb last offseason. 

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has been vocal about his desire to see the team re-sign both of its top receivers, no matter the cost. Tee Higgins earned $21.8 million while playing on the franchise tag this season, and is seeking a long-term deal. Ja’Marr Chase, entering the final year of his rookie deal, is likely looking for an extension close in value—if not higher than—the four-year, $140 million contract Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson signed last year.

Stadium Status

Several teams beyond the Chiefs will continue efforts to seal funding for new stadiums, too.

The Browns and the city of Cleveland are suing each other over the franchise trying to move out of its downtown venue and build a $2 billion dome in suburban Brooke Park. In Chicago, the Bears are seeking a new enclosed stadium that could cost close to $5 billion, but getting public funding has been a major issue thus far.

The Jets and Aaron Rodgers Are Getting a $49 Million Divorce

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The disastrous Aaron Rodgers Jets era appears to be over.

Two different Fox reporters said on Super Bowl Sunday that the Jets are done with the 41-year-old quarterback. Jay Glazer reported that Rodgers recently flew to the team’s New Jersey headquarters, “only to be told that the team was moving on from him.”

The Jets recently hired Aaron Glenn as their head coach, and the former Lions defensive coordinator had been cagey about his plans at quarterback.

Getting rid of Rodgers will likely be expensive, and Glazer reported that the QB wants to play in the NFL again next year. If the team designates him as a post-June 1 cut—which Glazer suggested was likely—they will eat $49 million in dead cap money, $14 million in 2025 and $35 million in 2026. That would let any team sign Rodgers when the league year begins on March 12.

The Jets could trade Rodgers, but he has a no-trade clause that lets him limit his destination and it’s unlikely any team would surrender significant assets for a 41-year-old player whose athleticism and production have sharply dropped.

Rodgers was traded to the Jets in 2023 and eventually agreed to a restructured two-year, $75 million fully guaranteed contract with the team. (The complicated deal tied the sides together past 2024 because of several void years attached to the end to ease the cap pain. Rodgers took a $30 million pay cut in the process.)

The four-time MVP was heralded as a savior when he arrived on the East Coast. Forget about ending the Jets’ playoff drought, then and now the longest in U.S. sports. He brought legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, joining a New York roster that was widely thought to be loaded outside of quarterback.

Instead, it became a nightmare almost immediately. Rodgers tore his Achilles on the fourth play of the 2023 season, and it quickly became clear that the Jets did not adequately prepare for the possibility. Poor QB play, again, doomed that Jets team to a 7–10 record.

Owner Woody Johnson gave head coach Robert Saleh and GM Joe Douglas a mulligan on that season, going all in on the Saleh-Rodgers-Douglas trio for 2024.

It wasn’t quite four plays, but it all fell apart nearly as quickly this fall. By the end of September, with the Jets sitting at .500, Johnson suggested to Saleh and Douglas that Rodgers be benched. When the report emerged several months later, the Jets suggested Johnson was joking, but the poor quality of his team was no joke. Johnson fired Saleh a week after the meeting where the Rodgers benching was floated. About a month later, Johnson landed his helicopter on the practice field and fired Douglas.

The Jets limped to a 5–12 finish, with Rodgers cracking jokes on The Pat McAfee Show about how one of Johnson’s notoriously involved teenage sons might cut him.

Despite his clearly diminished ability, Rodgers had one of the best statistical seasons by a Jets quarterback ever. He managed to play in all 17 games, throwing for 28 touchdowns and over 3,800 yards. He finished seventh in Comeback Player of the Year voting.

Conversation Starters

  • The mostly pro-Eagles crowd at Super Bowl LIX booed Taylor Swift when she was shown on the big screen. Check it out.
  • Specialty cocktails cost as much as $40 in New Orleans on Sunday night. Take a look.
  • Caesars Superdome had to make a quick transition for Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance. Watch it here.

Question of the Day

Did you watch the entire broadcast of Super Bowl LIX?

 Yes   No 

Friday’s result: 61% of respondents think New Orleans should remain in the Super Bowl hosting rotation.