Former agent has bold Justin Herbert contract projection for Chargers

The LA Chargers have big business to take care of this offseason as Justin Herbert is eligible to sign a new extension with the team. Herbert is still playing under his rookie contract in 2023 and even has a fifth-year option for 2024, so it is not like the team is going to lose him any time soon.

That being said, it would benefit the Chargers to get a deal done as soon as possible. Not only is it nice to take care of Herbert and get ahead of the issue, but it would benefit the Chargers as well. If the team waits then it risks doing business after Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts' new deals, which will only raise the market price.

There are plenty of Herbert contract projections out there with varying insights. CBS Sports' Joel Corry, who was previously a sports agent, gave his insight on what Herbert's massive new deal may look like this week.

Corry's viewpoint is unique as a former agent and he brought up a very good point that has not been discussed much elsewhere in the media. The Chargers signed Joey Bosa to a very player-friendly extension before the 2020 season and Herbert's agents are going to use that to their advantage.

Justin Herbert contract projection based on Joey Bosa's Chargers contract:

"In a five-year, $272.5 million extension, averaging $54.5 million per year, there would be approximately $162.25 million fully guaranteed at signing and $210.75 million in overall guarantees with Herbert getting the same treatment as Bosa. "

That overall money and the guarantees is not the only thing that Herbert's team may try to replicate from Bosa's deal, though. They may also try to replicate the new money that is introduced in the contract as time goes on.

Corry continues to elaborate on that point:

"For Herbert, the new money after his first three years (through 2027) would essentially be $177 million to rival Bosa's 64.92 percentage of new money after the first three new years. Adding this roughly $177 million to Herbert's remaining rookie contract puts his overall guarantee at approximately $210.75 million."

Obviously, the Chargers are going to do everything they can to get Herbert back in Los Angeles. If that means structuring the deal in a manner that makes it much more player-friendly than team-friendly then that is ultimately what they are going to do.

In a perfect world, the Chargers would be able to lock Herbert down for more years, even if the deal is player-friendly with the money and guarantees. This would ensure that Herbert was not only locked down for a long time but that the team would not have to pay the new market price in 5-6 years.

But then again, Herbert rightfully has all the leverage in this situation and he is going to get pretty much anything he wants from the Chargers. And because of Bosa's previous deal, we might have an idea of what that Herbert contract projection will look like.

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