Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has agreed to a new contract that will pay him up to $5 million in incentives based on his 2018 performance, and it turns out that he would have earned the full $5 million if he’d had the same incentives in his deal.
According to Albert Breer of SI.com, Brady will earn $1 million for each of these statistical accomplishments:
* Top 5 in passer rating (Brady was third in 2017)
* Top 5 in completion percentage (Brady was fifth in 2017)
* Top 5 in yards per attempt (Brady was fourth in 2017)
* Top 5 in touchdown passes (Brady was third in 2017)
* Top 5 in passing yards (Brady was first in 2017)
If the Patriots win the Super Bowl, Brady would get $2 million per incentive, although that’s with a maximum value of $5 million, so even if he hits all five incentives and wins the Super Bowl, he’d still get $5 million.
Given that he would have hit all five incentives last year, Brady surely feels confident that he can make the full $5 million this year. Still, it feels a little meager: Given all Brady has accomplished and how willing he’s been to sign team-friendly contracts, he could easily argue that the Patriots ought to just add an extra $5 million (or more) guaranteed to his contract.