Geno Smith's resurgent season earns QB $2.5M in contract incentives
Geno Smith is back on the field and at the bank.
The Seattle Seahawks quarterback's resurgent season earned him his first career Pro Bowl nod in his first full-time campaign as a starter since 2014. It also earned him serious incentive payouts, with his latest milestone arriving in Sunday's 23-6 win over the New York Jets.
Smith surpassed 4,000 passing yards on the season with his 183-yard effort against his former team. Per Spotrac, the tally earned him an additional $250,000 in an incentive structure that already paid him $750,000 for passing 3,400 and 3,700 yards.
Smith's playing time is also adding up to a nice payday. He earns $250,000 each for playing time incentives at 55%, 65%, 75% and 85% of Seattle's offensive snaps. With one week remaining in the season, Smith has played every Seahawks snap thus far. He's a safe bet to cash in on an additional $1 million for his playing time.
And he'll have more than Seattle's playoff berth on the line next week against the Los Angeles Rams. If the Seahawks make the postseason, his playing time incentives would double to $2 million. He would have also triggered that bonus with 10 wins. At 8-8, the Seahawks won't get there. They do have a shot at the playoffs, but the outcome is not completely in their control.
With a win against the Rams and a loss by the Green Bay Packers in Week 18, the Seahawks would clinch the NFC's seventh and final playoff spot. But the 8-8 Packers hold the tiebreaker over Seattle thanks to a better conference record and would clinch that spot with a win over the Detroit Lions.
Smith doesn't need to do anything else to secure an additional $500,000 in incentive money triggered by making the Pro Bowl and throwing 20 touchdowns. His two touchdowns on Sunday put him at 29 on the season.
They're all nice paydays and mark a significant increase to the $1.26 million in base salary and $1.69 million in roster bonuses he earned this season. They pale in comparison to the eventual payday coming Smith's way. Smith is due a new contract in the offseason that should pay him substantially more annually than the roughly $16.4 million he has earned in his entire 10-season NFL career.
