All-Pro DB Cooper DeJean named the Eagles most 'underpaid' player
· Yahoo Sports
The following is only a hunch. The Philadelphia Eagles' front office wasn't contacted, nor was a ton of research done. This is just an idea that gets tossed around when one thinks of discussing NIL money, transfer portals, and free agency.
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At some point, players will begin requesting that their contracts be renegotiated before they expire. Debate will ensue. The league will be knocked off kilter. Now, that day may not come tomorrow, but you can best believe that day is coming. Think about it. Some of you never thought collegiate athletes could make millions before their first NFL contract.
Thankfully, Cooper DeJean is locked under his rookie deal through the 2027 season and won't be a free agent until 2028. Plus, he's the type of guy who will honor a deal signed. There's no telling what type of chaos a few disgruntled players would be able to stir, so let's just appreciate this game for what it is and put thoughts of rebellion on the back burner (for now).
Eagles' Cooper DeJean receives the 'underpaid' tag line.
Here's something you may find interesting. Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon recently dropped his take on every NFL team's most underpaid player following peak 2026 free agency. DeJean earned that nod for Philadelphia, and here's what Gagnon mentioned as being his reason for making that decision.
"The team's top two draft picks from 2024, Quinyon Mitchell and DeJean, have both become stars in the Philadelphia secondary. Mitchell is the higher pick and was probably a slightly more impactful player in 2025, but he'll cost the organization $4.0 million in '26 compared to just $2.5 million for DeJean."
It’s easy to dismiss ideas like early renegotiations until the league gives players a reason to push for them. The financial landscape is evolving rapidly, and as young stars regularly outperform the value of their rookie deals, the conversation around fairness versus structure will only grow louder.
Cooper DeJean fits that mold perfectly. If his trajectory continues, the gap between production and pay will become harder to ignore, not just for fans and analysts, but potentially for the player himself. Fortunately, from a salary cap and team standpoint, structure dictates that type of thinking could disrupt a well-oiled machine. The Eagles may not have to address that reality today, but it’s the kind of situation that could one day force difficult conversations.
Still. Philadelphia is going to have to pay DeJean someday, and based on how brilliantly he has played up to this point, that's still a 'good problem' to have. Hitting on young, affordable talent is the foundation of sustained success in the NFL, and DeJean represents exactly that. He was a second-round selection with first-round talent. That said, he was always going to outplay his rookie deal.
He signed a four-year, $9.2 million arrangement as a rookie. He represents a cap hit of $2.5 million in 2026 and a $2.9 million hit in 2027.
Our great game continues to shift, from NIL money shaping expectations to NFL players gaining more awareness of their market value. Scenarios like this won’t feel hypothetical forever. DeJean won't be underpaid forever. He's one of the game's rising stars. A coming pay raise isn’t a discussion about whether it might happen. It's a discussion about 'when'.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Cooper DeJean named the Eagles most 'underpaid' player