Dawgs Daily

Nolan Smith Signs With the Philadelphia Eagles

On Monday, Nolan Smith became the latest Georgia Bulldog to sign a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Tyler Graves

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Over the course of the last two NFL drafts, the Philadelphia Eagles have demonstrated a strong affinity for drafting players developed by Kirby Smart and his staff at the University of Georgia. In 2022, the Eagles drafted defensive tackle Jordan Davis in the first round with the No.13 overall pick and linebacker Nakobe Dean in the third round with the No.84 overall pick. 

Most recently, the Eagles continued this trend by drafting defensive tackle Jalen Carter with the No.9 pick, outside linebacker Nolan Smith with the No.30 pick, and cornerback Kelee Ringo with the No.105 pick in last month’s 2023 NFL draft. After signing Carter to his rookie deal on May 4, Smith became the latest former Bulldog the Eagles came to terms with on a new contract.

As is standard for all rookie draft choices, Smith’s deal is for four years, but given that Smith was drafted in the first round, his deal will also include a fifth-year player team option. The former Georgia linebacker is under contract with the Eagles through 2026 with the team retaining the option to keep him under contract until 2027. If the Eagles do elect to exercise their option on Smith’s contract, they must do so during the 2026 offseason.

The terms of the deal were not released by the Eagles, but based on the monetary value associated with Smith’s draft slot, OverTheCap - a site dedicated to tracking NFL contracts and salary cap figures - estimates the total value of Smith’s contract to be $11.99 million with a $5.59 million signing bonus with the yearly figures broken down as follows:

2023 - $750,000

2024 - $1,295,110

2025 - $1,840,220

2026 - $2,385,330

Nolan Smith poses for the cameras after being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with the No.30 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.
Nolan Smith poses for the cameras after being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with the No.30 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft


Smith was a former No.1 overall recruit out of IMG in the 2019 recruiting class. At Georgia, the Savannah, Ga. native won two national championships and totaled 110 total tackles, 20 tackles for loss, and 12.5 sacks over the course of his Bulldog career. Smith was also a critical part of establishing the culture that helped lead Georgia to consecutive national championships as he routinely earned rave reviews from coaches and teammates alike for his leadership qualities and the positive presence he brought to the Georgia locker room.

A pectoral injury suffered in the Bulldogs’ annual rivalry game with Florida on October 29 sidelined the former Georgia star for the final seven games of Georgia’s 2023 national championship season, but Smith recovered in time to put on a show at the NFL combine in March where he became the heaviest player ever to break 4.40 seconds (4.39) in the 40-yard dash and post a vertical jump greater than 40 inches (41.5).

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Tyler Graves
TYLER GRAVES

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