The full details are in on the Marshawn Lynch contract, and it allows him make a lot of money. If he plays like he did during his best years in Seattle.
Per multiple sources, the base package consists of a $1 million roster bonus, a fully-guaranteed $1.35 million base salary, a $150,000 workout bonus, and $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses (which works out to $31,250 per game on the 46-man roster). It’s a total base package of $3 million.
Lynch can make another $5.9 million beyond that, with three different incentive packages. First, he gets an extra $250,000 for scoring nine touchdowns. The amount doubles to $500,000 if he scores a total of 12 touchdowns.
As to rushing yards, Lynch has various benchmarks that kick out large payments. He gets $400,000 for his first 400 yards. At 500 yards total, Lynch gets another $400,000. At 600 yards total, Lynch gets another $400,000. At 800 yards, another $600,000 is earned. At 1,000, Lynch gets another $600,000.
That’s a total of $2.4 million for 1,000 rushing yards.
But there’s more. For each 100 yards beyond 1,000 (up to 1,600 total yards), he gets another $250,000. That’s a total rushing-yardage package of $3.9 million.
The deal also includes another $1.5 million in incentives based on team production, starting with a playoff berth.
For 2018, Lynch has a base salary of $4 million, a roster bonus of $1 million, a workout bonus of $250,000, and per-game roster bonuses totaling $750,000 ($46,875 per game). That’s a $6 million base package, with another $2 million in incentives.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the deal took time to negotiate because the Raiders, who will eventually be giving monster deals to players like Derek Carr and Khalil Mack, wanted to commit dollars to Lynch based on production. And if he produces like he did during his best years in Seattle, he will get paid.
If, conversely, he has an injury-marred season like he did during his final season with the Seahawks, the payments will reflect that. So it’s a win-win, with Lynch’s total compensation based largely on his total output.