REV's Jaelan Phillips signs $120M deal with Carolina Panthers

Jaelan Phillips, who helped Redlands East Valley High to a state championship in football as a sophomore, has signed a lucrative contract to play for the Carolina Panthers of the NFL.

Numerous sources inside the NFL and the broadcast media said that Phillips signed a four-year contract worth $120 million with $80 million guaranteed, according to ESPN.

Phillips, 26, a 2017 graduate of REV, played three years for the Wildcats, helping the team win two Citrus Belt League titles and finish second the other year. REV was 33-7 in those years under former Head Coach Dick Bruich, now the head coach at Citrus Valley High.

The Redlands native, who will turn 27 in May, was listed at 6 feet 5 inches and 215 pounds as a sophomore at REV. On the roster of both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Miami Dolphins in 2025–26, he was listed at 266 pounds.

In his five and a half seasons with those two teams, he played in 63 games, missing games with various injuries including an Achilles tendon injury. He has 28 career sacks and 68 quarterback hits as a pro.

Phillips was drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft by the Dolphins and spent four-plus seasons with them until being traded to the Eagles for the second half of this past season.

In eight games for the Eagles, Phillips had 28 tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks (five for the season including three at Miami).

At the time he was traded to the Eagles, Phillips told the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper:

“Life happens and things are going to happen. But at the end of the day, it’s all about your perspective on it. How you deal with the adversity is really what separates the average from the great…. I think the biggest thing is being able to flip the perspective from feeling sorry for yourself or you could have the perspective of – 'This is going to make me stronger.’”

Phillips was recruited to UCLA where he played the 2017 and 2018 seasons. His 2018 season ended after four games due to a concussion and he medically retired from football.

He transferred to the University of Miami but sat out the 2019 season. In 2020, he returned to football and earned first-team All-America honors for the Hurricanes, making 45 tackles, eight sacks and an interception during the team’s 8-3 season.

While with Miami, he started the Jaelan Phillips Foundation and the Jaelan Phillips Music Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami.

His work ethic on the football field while in high school helped launch his college and pro careers. In his senior season at REV, the Wildcats went 9-3 (7-0 in the CBL) and Phillips produced 81 tackles, 61 assisted tackles (142 total), 11 tackles for loss, 21 sacks and 33 quarterback hurries along with one interception.

For his three-year career at REV he was credited with 264 tackles and 31 quarterback sacks.

When REV won the state championship over Clayton Valley Charter 34-33 when Phillips was a sophomore, he had six solo tackles, seven assisted tackles and one fumble recovery for a team that was led by QB Armando Herrera and produced a 15-1 season record (7-0 in the CBL).

After his senior season in 2016 he was considered a five-star recruit and ranked No. 1 in the nation by ESPN and Rivals.com and overall No. 5 recruit in the country. He was voted the All-CIF Southern Section co-defensive player of the year and received first-team all-State honors from Cal-Hi Sports. He was also named to the California High School All-Decade team.

He considered his acquisition by the then-defending Super Bowl champion Eagles “the biggest thrill of my life.”

Phillips has given back to his hometown community, hosting a football camp at REV that drew 400 participants in the summer of 2025.

His parents are Jordan and Sabine Robertson-Phillips of Redlands.