Sometimes it’s about raw talent.

Sometimes it’s about other-worldly production.

Sometimes it’s even about time and place and happenstance.

But often—I’d argue most often—the decision to pay or not pay a player in pro sports is simpler than we make it out to be. For the Eagles and Jordan Davis, I would guess his new three-year, $78M deal falls along these lines. Expensive? Sure. Risky? Perhaps. Surprising? Maybe mildly so.

Yet, if I had to guess, the calculus was as simple as this.

Bet on the person.

Isn’t that what most of us do in real life? We bet on people. We all make small bets on a day-to-day basis. We make bigger bets in life. But the calculus—from friendship to relationships to business—all hinges on the same thing: Is this person worth betting on?

It’s not always as simple as what they’ve done or how great they are supposed to be. In sports and life it comes down to this: Do I think this person can be trusted, and would I bet currency (time, money, job security, happiness) on it?

Once upon a time, Brandon Graham was worth betting on for the Eagles after an uneven start to his NFL career. Now, it’s Davis. Time will tell how the deal works out. Nothing is guaranteed in sports.

But after watching Davis grow as a person, player and leader, he sure seems like the kind of guy worth betting on.

The Eagles certainly think so.

How much for a Jalen Hurts extension?!

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