LA Chargers News: Bolts agree to a five-year extension with Joey Bosa
By Jason Reed
LA Chargers News: Joey Bosa will be a Charger for at least another six seasons.
The best LA Chargers news of the entire offseason was reported on Tuesday as it was announced that elite pass-rusher Joey Bosa agreed to a five-year contract extension with the Chargers.
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter first broke the news that Bosa agreed to a five-year, $135 million extension with the Chargers. This guarantees that Bosa will be in the powder blue through the 2025 season.
Bosa set a record with this contract extension as well. Bosa is getting $78 million guaranteed at signing with $102 million total guaranteed.
This is huge LA Chargers news as it was the one narrative that was surrounding the team for the entire offseason. Despite all of the moves, most fans were looking ahead to the 2021 offseason, where the Chargers had some prominent names his free agency.
Bosa headlined those prominent names alongside the likes of Keenan Allen, Hunter Henry and Desmond King. The Chargers are yet to extend any of the other free agents from the 2021 offseason, but with the most projected cap space for the 2021 season, this extension should not stop them from doing so.
What this means for the LA Chargers and Joey Bosa moving forward
The LA Chargers just locked down one of the best pass-rushers in the league who is still only 25 years old. Bosa has arguably not even hit his prime yet and he should be an elite pass-rusher for the entire duration of this contract.
The team has the luxury to agree to this kind of contract after pivoting from longtime quarterback, Philip Rivers. The Chargers are not going to have to pay Justin Herbert a new contract until the 2025 season, the last year that Bosa is under contract. It is a common NFL practice to capitalize on the rookie contracts while you can and the Bolts did just that.
As for Bosa, he remains on one of the best defenses in the league for the next six years and has the legitimate opportunity to become the greatest pass-rusher in Chargers franchise history.
This contract also ties Bosa for the largest contract ever given to a defensive lineman. Aaron Donald signed a six-year, $135 million extension with the Los Angeles Rams prior to the 2018 season. If you account for Bosa’s fifth-year option this season, this is essentially a six-year, $149.36 million contract.
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Myles Garrett set the market with his contract extension with the Cleveland Browns a few weeks ago when he agreed to a five-year, $125 million extension.