The Patriots are giving Patrick Chung 800,000 reasons to have a good season.
New England gave Chung additional incentives in his contract that allow him to earn up to $1.7 million in bonuses, according to Field Yates of ESPN. Chung’s previous contract had up to $900,000 in incentives.
Chung has two years left on his contract. It appears that the Patriots didn’t get anything in exchange for giving Chung those incentives; they just want to motivate and reward a player who has played well for them.
The Patriots previously added incentives to Rob Gronkowski’s contract. Although they’re often considered one of the more frugal teams in the league, being frugal means the Patriots are in good cap shape, and that allows them to spend money on bonuses for players who earn them.