As expected, Sammy Watkins Packers deal heavy on incentives
Only the $350K signing bonus is guaranteed.
By PackerAaron
When news initially broke that the Packers would be signing free agent wide receiver Sammy Watkins, the general reporting was that the Packers and Watkins had a deal that was worth "up to $4 million."
Anyone who's been watching how the media game is played over the years knew immediately that the actual nuts and bolts numbers of the deal would undoubtedly be significantly less.
Sure enough, per my old colleague Ryan Wood:
Sammy Watkins' deal is worth up to $4M based on incentives for playtime, catches, yards and TDs.
Playtime:
55% = $150K
60% = $350K
65% = $525KCatches:
50 = $150K
60 = $350K
70 = $525KYards:
550 = $150K
650 = $350K
700 = $525KTDs
7 = $150K
8 = $350K
9 = $575K— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) April 19, 2022
That, ladies and gentleman, is what we call "a steal."
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Comments (6)
beerandbrats
April 19, 2022 at 12:57 pm
That contract is a bargain for the Packers. It's an even better deal if he can stay healthy and be productive this year!
NitschkeFan
April 19, 2022 at 01:30 pm
Very nice move by Gute. A can't lose contract for the Packers.
BirdDogUni
April 19, 2022 at 01:43 pm
*I hope we pay him $4 million dollars...
Curt
April 19, 2022 at 02:55 pm
Absolutely!!
Thegreatreynoldo
April 19, 2022 at 09:34 pm
Watkins played 13 games last year, so his cap number is $1.772M.
Where the incentives kick in is interesting.
50 catches when he had just 27 last year.
550 yards when he had 394 last year.
55% snaps when he had 49% last year.
7 TDs when he had 1 TD last year.
We knew all of the incentives would kick in at numbers higher than his 2021 stats so that they would not be likely to be earned and therefore count against the cap.
IDK for sure, but I suspect that the packers are expecting Watkins to produce right around where the incentives kick in, and possibly to outperform the lowest levels on some of those incentives. Interesting.
Agree this is a steal for GB. So, I guess I will stop whining about Gute's failure to trade for Devonta Parker, though parker would have had a useful extra year by being under contract for 2023 as well.
BirdDogUni
April 20, 2022 at 08:27 pm
*I still hope they pay him $4 Million Dollars... XD