- Philadelphia star signed a new three-year extension
- Rated as one of the best players in the NFL at his position
- Earned a big raise from his current, lucrative deal
Australian NFL star Jordan Mailata has taken his earnings further into the stratosphere, signing a mega three-year extension that will pay him $100 million.
Mailata and the Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to an extension that will take him through the end of the 2028 season with new revenue of $33 million per season.
It will be a significant boost to his current $24 million per season deal, which has two years remaining, and dwarfs the three-year, $13 million deal that Australian punter Cameron Johnston recently signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers .
The former South Sydney NRL junior is now the fourth-highest paid left tackle in the NFL, cementing his position in the competition despite the 27-year-old not yet making the Pro Bowl.
Jordan Mailata (pictured with fiancée Niki Ikahihifo-Bender) will now earn as much as $33 million per season with his new deal with the Philadelphia Eagles
The 203cm tall, 142kg attacking tackle has had a meteoric rise in the sport after leaving his NRL career to take a chance on finding fame and fortune in the NFL
It also marks a stunning ride for Mailata, who didn’t play in a single game in his first two NFL seasons on the Eagles roster after being drafted 233rd overall in the 2018 draft before starting 10 games in 2020. First-round pick Andre Dillard as the Eagles’ starting left tackle in 2021.
Over the past three seasons, Mailata played 47 games and was part of the Philadelphia team that lost the 2023 Super Bowl.
But as stunning as that immense new deal is, it still doesn’t make him the highest-paid Australian sports star.
According to Forbes’ list of the highest-earning golfers of 2023, Cameron Smith raked in $115 million last year – although that was massively inflated by his lucrative deal with the rebel LIV tour.
NBA star Ben Simmons will earn $60 million with the Brooklyn Nets in the 2024-2025 season, according to Spotrac, which tracks the paydays of players in major U.S. sports.
However, Mailata has moved up ahead of F1 star Daniel Ricciardo, who earned $36 million with McLaren in 2022 but has taken a pay cut to drive for the RB team this season.
Mailata’s insane payday still wasn’t enough to put him ahead of golfer Cameron Smith (pictured) on Australia’s list of sports rich
He also lags behind NBA star Ben Simmons (photo), who won the win at the Brooklyn Nets despite a horror series of injuries.
However, the gridiron star has overtaken Formula 1’s Daniel Ricciardo in terms of pay
Sydneysider Mailata first excelled in rugby league, catching the eye of scouts from the Bulldogs NRL side and joining their under-18s program in 2014.
After a health scare took him out of the game for more than 18 months, he eventually played for South Sydney’s under-20 and reserve sides before his size of 203cm and 142kg made him unfit to play the sport at the highest level . .
He was part of the NFL’s International Pathways Program and did so well on the gridiron that he signed an $88 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022 after excelling as their left tackle on the offensive line – one of the most important and most difficult positions to play in. the sport.
Mailata played for NRL’s South Sydney Rabbitohs (pictured) before taking a big risk by swapping footy for a sport he’d never played before
“I think I have so much to improve in my game,” Mailata said late in the 2023 campaign.
“Every day I work with Stout (offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland) and he points out parts of what I do that could be improved. I take everything he says seriously.
‘He is the one who made me what I am today. Whatever he says, I’m going to do it.
‘With me everything is day to day. I love being part of this team and the fans are a big part of what we do. Nothing will change that mentality.”