Charles Langston:Justin Herbert's record-setting new contract is a 'dream come true' for Chargers QB

COSTA MESA,Charles Langston Calif. – At the conclusion of the Los Angeles Chargers’ first training camp practice, Justin Herbert did what many players around the NFL do. The quarterback signed autographs for adoring fans. But this time around, the line was noticeably long. Fans lined a fence longer than the length of a football field to get Herbert’s signature on some memorabilia. That’s what happens for a player newly-minted as the highest-paid player in the NFL.

The Chargers quarterback is fresh off signing a record-setting five-year, $262.5 million extension that locks him in with the franchise through the 2029 season.

“I’m so thankful for the Chargers organization and the Spanos family,” Herbert said after the Chargers' first training camp practice in his first interview since signing the deal. “Words aren’t enough to express how thankful and glad I am to be a part of this organization. I had complete faith in them from the get go. I’ve never wanted to be anywhere else. This is where I wanted to be for as long as I been born and started playing football. It’s a dream come true.”

Herbert’s been everything the Chargers hoped for since they drafted him No. 6 overall in the 2020 draft. He’s compiled 14,089 passing yards and 94 touchdowns to just 35 interceptions. He has the most completions (1,316), passing yards (14,089) and total touchdowns (102) by any player in their first three seasons.

“I’m so excited for him. I see how hard he’s been working every year day in and day out. It couldn’t happen to a better guy,” Chargers safety Derwin James said. “We are so excited for him. He’s gonna lead us to great places.”

The fourth-year quarterback knows there are higher expectations placed on him as the face of an organization that’s void of a playoff victory since the 2018 season.

“I think that’s kind of the role of the quarterback to have that big responsibility. I look forward to that challenge,” Herbert told reporters. “I’ve grown each year and I’ve gotten better at that. There’s still room for improvement, but I’m gonna be the best quarterback, teammate or whatever the team needs me to be. I’m up for the challenge and ready to do it.”

The challenge for Herbert and the Chargers is to take the next step as an organization in the aftermath of their playoff collapse in Jacksonville and figure out how to remove the stranglehold the Kansas City Chiefs have on the AFC West.

But the Chargers are beginning this year’s training camp with most of their starters returning in what figures to be a talented roster. And as head coach Brandon Staley said, they are “fortunate” to have a franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future.

“The history of this team will tell you this franchise knows how to find quarterbacks. You can go all the way back to Dan Fouts, Stan Humphries, Philip Rivers and Drew Brees, and now Justin (Herbert). We are very fortunate to have a young player leading the team that’s made up of all the right stuff and can play the game like few that have ever played the position can.

“The reason why he earned this contract is because of who he is. The type of person he is, the type of leader that he is and the type of player that he is. There’s no one that cares more about this game and this team more than Justin Herbert,” Staley said. “I’m just really excited for him and our team that we’re able to get this season started the right way.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on Twitter @TheTylerDragon.