It pays to be one of Carson Wentz’s bodyguards. Brandon Brooks received a contract extension that will make him the league’s highest-paid right guard.
Brooks, arguably the best right guard in football, agreed to a four-year deal worth $54 million, including $30 million in guaranteed money. The 30-year-old was on his way to winning the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year after recovering from a torn Achilles in only nine months. Brooks was back on the field for the season opener seemingly against all odds for an injury that normally takes a full year to heal. There was never a doubt.
Brooks was the top-graded offensive lineman following a dominating performance in Week 9. He helped fuel an Eagles’ rushing attack that gained 146 yards on the ground. According to Pro Football Focus, Brooks graded out at a whopping 96.6 en route to a spot on their Team of the Week. He has been the No. 1 right guard in the NFL since Week 1.
“I don’t know what to say right now, really,” Brooks told the team’s official website. “I’m blessed. After my first couple of weeks here when the Eagles signed me (in 2016), I knew I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”
#Eagles have signed G Brandon Brooks to a four-year contract extension through 2024.
The well-deserved contract puts him ahead of guys like the Cowboys’ Zack Martin, Giants’ Kevin Zeitler and Panthers’ Trai Turner, per OverTheCap. Brooks had been set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2021 but the Eagles felt it was time to lock him up. He’ll earn roughly $13.5 million per season.
“I’m honored that the organization extended me early, with a year to go on my contract,” Brook said. “I don’t know, man. I’m kind of speechless at this point.”
Brooks Earned the Respect of Peers in Training Camp
Brandon Brooks has long flown under the radar in the eyes of the general public, although not in the locker room.
As Brooks was continuing to rehab and fight back from a brutal ACL injury during training camp, he never complained. The former third-round pick kept telling everyone he’d be back in time for the season opener.
“It’s funny because everyone asks me, Week 1 this, Week 1 that … the biggest thing is me being healthy and going out there and feeling like my old self,” Brooks told Heavy.com at the time. “If that’s Week 1 then I’ll be out there Week 1. If that’s a couple games after Week 1, then that’s what it is.”
His hard work and dedication made an impression on his teammates, too. Center Jason Kelce called Brooks “the most important guy” on the entire offensive line, a guy that doesn’t get nearly enough credit.
“I think he might be the most important guy. He’s such a special talent. Big, powerful, strong, athletic,” Kelce told Heavy.com. “It’s rare that one guy has all that, and he really makes my job easier, he makes Lane’s job easier.
“He’s such a crucial part of our run game, a crucial part of what we can do from a protection standpoint. I don’t think that he gets enough credit. I don’t think a lot of our guys get enough credit.”
A special one…
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Eagles Make Key Offensive Lineman Highest Paid Guard in NFL