Chargers running back Najee Harris is the latest professional athlete to put his playing career in jeopardy by way of a July 4th fireworks accident.
Harris, 27, hurt one of his eyes during an incident over the holiday last week, two months before he is set to make his debut with Los Angeles. He signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Chargers this offseason, after playing the first four years of his career with the Steelers.
“Najee Harris was present at a 4th of July event where a fireworks mishap resulted in injuries to several attendees,” the running back’s agent, Doug Hendrickson, said in a statement released Thursday. “Najee sustained a superficial eye injury during the incident, but is fully expected to be ready for the upcoming NFL season.”
Hendrickson did not respond to a Front Office Sports question about whether the incident will impact Harris’s contract, which could grow to $9.25 million if he rushes for at least 1,450 yards during the 2025 regular season. The Chargers have not commented on the situation.
Harris made $13.04 million on his four-year rookie contract in Pittsburgh. Ahead of the 2024 season, the Steelers declined to pick up his fifth-year team option. Harris was selected No. 24 overall in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
History Lesson
The most infamous fireworks incident involving an NFL player happened around July 4th in 2015, when Giants star defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul suffered a hand injury that resulted in him having two fingers on his right hand amputated.
After that accident, New York rescinded a three-year, $60 million contract offer for Pierre-Paul, who already had the franchise tag placed on him. He ultimately missed the first eight games of the 2015 season, and played on a one-year, $8.71 million contract.
Pierre-Paul played two more seasons with the Giants before getting traded to the Buccaneers in 2018.
