Patriots: Analyzing Cam Newton’s Full Contract Breakdown

Here are the details for New England Patriots QB Cam Newton’s contract.

When Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots signed Cam Newton about a week and a half ago, the rest of the NFL continued its whining. The former MVP was only guaranteed $550K on the deal, and while many convinced themselves it’s because Belichick had some nefarious influence in coercing Newton, it was simply a matter of the Patriots’ tight salary cap.

And when you look at the breakdown of the contract, which was revealed on Thursday, you can see that Newton’s incentives (of which they are nearly $7 million worth) are very achievable.

Ok, the All-Pro bonus and playoff wins bonuses aren’t really gimmes, but the rest is pretty damn conceivable.

In what situation does Cam not play 90% of the snaps this year? If he loses the starting job to Jarrett Stidham or gets injured? We’re sure he’ll take those bets. He’ll get an additional $1.5 million if he plays 90% of the snaps and takes the Pats to the playoffs, and will earn $250K for every playoff win he sees over 50% of the snaps in.

Also, a bounce back year could EASILY see him make the Pro Bowl, which he’s done three times since 2011. The fans would love to see him get back on track and play like he did two years ago. If he’s active for all 16 games, that’s another $700K.

It’s unclear if these are all considered “likely to be earned” incentives or “unlikely to be earned” incentives, but it’s important to know the former count against the salary cap while the latter do not, so stay tuned for information on that front.

Half of the max value of the $7.5 million is playing time incentives and he should earn $6 million if he can get back on track with the Patriots defense behind him, so with Cam rocking No. 1 with his new team, the only scenario we don’t see him dominating is if he were to suffer an injury that kept him out a majority of the season.

And if he wins a Super Bowl with the Pats? He’ll be earning a ton more on his next contract. Blame the rest of the league for not expressing interest in Newton.