The Los Angeles Chargers are preparing to sign one of their brightest young stars to a massive extension. Pro Bowl left tackle Rashawn Slater is in the final year of his rookie contract and is seeking a long-term extension to stay in LA.
The Chargers selected Slater with the 13th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Since then, he has been a bookend left tackle, protecting QB Justin Herbert’s blindside at an elite level. Now he is about to get paid like one.
Chargers have begun contract extension talks with LT Rashawn Slater
During a press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday morning, Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz revealed that the team has begun contract talks with Slater. ESPN’s Kris Rhim relayed the quote from Hortiz:
“We’ve had conversations. … I love Rashawn. I love Rashawn. And Rashawn is a great player, and he helps us win football games, so I’d love Rashawn to be around for a long time,” Rhim posted on X.
Slater has made 51 starts over the last four seasons with Los Angeles. The former first-round pick has been selected to the Pro Bowl twice and was named a second-team All-Pro in his rookie 2021 season. In 2024, Slater was named to his second Pro Bowl after a dominant campaign in which he earned a 91.1 overall Pro Football Focus grade which ranked second among all offensive tackles. He surrendered just 22 pressures and three sacks across 903 snaps played.
How much will it cost to extend Slater?
In 2025, Slater will have a base salary of $19 million as he plays out the fifth-year option season in his rookie contract. He will be looking for a pay raise on his long-term deal, however, and could become one of the highest-paid offensive tackles in the NFL when negotiations finish.
Spotrac projects a market value of $25.5 million in average annual value on Slater’s next contract, which could be a five-year deal worth $127.48 million in total. Such a deal would make Slater the third-highest-paid left tackle in the NFL.
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Detroit Lions RT Penei Sewell was a member of the same draft class as Slater. He recently got paid by Detroit, landing a four-year, $112 million contract worth $28 million per season. Slater will likely come close but land just under that figure on his next deal.
The Chargers are projected to have $70 million in salary cap space this offseason. The future of their cap space is rather healthy, too, with a projected $180 million currently available in 2026 and a projected $224 million available in 2027. Point being, Los Angeles has plenty of money to spend if they want to sign Slater to a lucrative long-term extension. They would also be wise to get a deal done sooner, rather than later, considering the way the salary cap has grown exponentially in recent years. This will cause the value of contracts to rise, too.
