After two years of doing one-year deals in free agency, receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has done a deal that covers, as a practical matter, the next two years.
Per a source with knowledge of the transaction, here are the details.
1. Signing bonus: $7.9 million.
2. 2023 base salary: $1.1 million, fully guaranteed.
3. 2024 base salary: $7 million, fully guaranteed.
4. 2025 base salary: $6.5 million.
5. 2023-25 per-game roster bonus: $58,823 per game, up to $1 million per year.
The deal also has up to $1.5 million in incentives for receiving yards in 2023, and up to $3 million in incentives for receiving yards in 2024 and in 2025.
Smith-Schuster will be paid $16 million guaranteed over the next two years. The deal will continue for a third year at the team’s option.
Contrary to reports that it’s a three-year, $33 million deal, the base package is $25.5 million. He can make up to $33 million.
He becomes an intriguing addition to a team that, on offense, is in transition. His size makes him versatile, allowing the Patriots to slip he offense into overdrive and potentially secure mismatches with a defense that can’t shuttle new players in.
That said, there’s a real question as to whether Smith-Schuster’s personality fits with the Patriot Way. More than a decade ago, Chad Johnson struggled to make the transition to assembly-line Stepford Patriot, abandoning his individuality and in turn undermining his performance.
Presumably, Patriots coach Bill Belichick will expect JuJu to act accordingly in New England. Not many got an exemption -- and those who have (like Gronk) earned it on the field.