Jalen Hurts is blowing up: Eagles QB lands on TIME100 Next list, nabs another major endorsement
In what turned into ‘The Summer of Jalen,’ the Birds quarterback has been everywhere — magazine covers, commercials, you name it.
It’s been a whirlwind seven months for Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts since his team lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl in February.
Hurts, who was the runner-up for the NFL MVP award, has gone from promoting a drink called Lemon Perfect to representing the Jordan Brand — and, as of Wednesday, Beats by Dre. He also went from earning a master’s degree to earning a Sports Illustrated cover. Oh, and he signed a massive five-year, $255-million contract too.
As part of his campaign with Beats, the brand turned their social accounts kelly green on Wednesday.
“Being part of the Beats family is truly a full-circle feeling,” said Hurts of the partnership. “The brand has long been part of my life and has amplified the soundtracks to many of my most memorable moments.”
In addition to the new endorsement, the 25-year-old has another honor to add to his ever-growing list of accolades: a spot on the TIME100 Next list.
With fall not yet officially here, it’s time to declare this NFL offseason “The Summer of Jalen.”
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As for Hurts’ latest honor, you’re likely already familiar with Time’s Person of the Year award and their yearly TIME100 list. Similar to the latter, this venture is the magazine’s third annual list of “the 100 emerging leaders from around the world who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership.”
Not only did Hurts make the list, but also he was one of just three people to land their own TIME100 Next cover, along with singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini and chef Mory Sacko.
Like the main TIME100 list, this also features famous people in similar fields writing about the list-makers. For Hurts, the writeup came from Hall of Fame passer Peyton Manning. Here’s what Manning had to say:
Making Hurts’ appearance on the list even more intriguing is that there wasn’t an “Athlete” category. Instead, Hurts was included under the title “Phenoms,” along with other young athletes like USWNT standout Sophia Smith and golf star Rose Zhang. Rising stars from other fields like actress Bella Ramsey (House of the Dragon) and rapper Ice Spice were also included in this category.
There also was an accompanying interview with Hurts, which covered everything from his famous crawfish to his critics — and why he doesn’t want to silence them — to whether he’s made a “Barbenheimer” pilgrimage. To the surprise of anyone who has followed his career, Hurts didn’t even know what the interviewer was talking about, asking, “What is [Barbie] even about?”
“I’m in a different mode right now,” Hurts said.
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As for the sky-high expectations being placed on the Eagles QB, he’s not trying to improve on his near-MVP campaign last season.
“I’ve been at the mountaintop and the valley low,” Hurts told Time. “The thing that I understand is every year, it resets. Every year is a new challenge. And every year, those new challenges require a new work ethic and a new faith.”
Week 1 of the 2023 season certainly proved to be a challenge for Hurts and the Eagles, as they narrowly escaped New England with a win. And with a short week to prepare, they’ll face another challenge on Thursday night when they host the Vikings in their home opener.
The Eagles play the Minnesota Vikings in the home opener. Join Eagles beat reporters Josh Tolentino, EJ Smith, and Olivia Reiner as they dissect the hottest story lines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.