One month after Jalen Hurts earned the second contract of his NFL career, the Eagles star added a second degree — returning to Oklahoma’s campus and receiving his master’s degree Friday night.
Dr. David Surratt, the Vice President for Student Affairs & Dean of Students at Oklahoma, posted a video on Twitter of Hurts shaking hands and posing for pictures on the graduation stage as the audience applauded.
Hurts earned his degree in human relations to pair with his undergraduate degree in communications from Alabama, according to his Oklahoma bio page.
Hurts’ academic success always coincided with his rise as a quarterback, from high school and Alabama to Oklahoma and then the Eagles.
His mother, Pamela Hurts, told KHOU — a news station in Houston — ahead of Super Bowl 2023 that “academics have always been important” and prompted Hurts to graduate early at Alabama, according to Bleacher Report.
“As a testament, he wanted to finish his degree at Alabama,” Pamela said. “It’s always been at the forefront.”
Two months later, Hurts told Essence in an interview that his mother actually inspired him when it came to academics, according to Yahoo! Sports.
Hurts told Essence that Pamela, as a special education teacher, decided to go back to school and become a counselor when she noticed people losing jobs in her industry.
“That’s a living testimony for me,” Hurts told Essence in April.
And just one month later, Hurts completed his second degree and attended graduation.
He guided the Eagles to the Super Bowl in his third NFL season, throwing for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for another 13 touchdowns.
That led him to a second-place finish in the MVP voting behind Patrick Mahomes.
After the season, the Eagles rewarded him with a contract that made him the highest-paid player in NFL history at $51 million per year, though Lamar Jackson later exceeded that number when he signed an extension of his own.
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