Pats Pulpit
The end of the regular season does not just mean that the New England Patriots are now in win-or-go-home mode in the playoffs, but also that they can put a wrap on most of their contract incentives. In total, 20 of their players had one or several such incentives in their respective deals, and half of them were able to earn all or parts of it.
Miguel Benzan (@patscap), friend of Pats Pulpit and the No. 1 source for Patriots salary cap information on the world wide web, posted a rundown of said incentives on social media recently. Let’s take a look.
Five members of the Patriots’ roster were able to earn their full value of contract incentives this season. As can be seen, all of them were tied to playing time. Meanwhile, three also had additional hurdles to be cleared.
Outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson, for example, needed seven sacks on the season to maximize his intake. Center Garrett Bradbury and safety Jaylinn Hawkins, meanwhile, were able to do so because New England managed to qualify for the playoffs.
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs headlines the group of Patriots earning partial incentives. He actually did so twice, earning half of his $2 million receptions incentive for finishing with 85 catches and $500,000 of his receiving yards incentive because of his 1,013-yard output.
Teammates Mack Hollins and Hunter Henry both cleared some of their receptions hurdles thanks to their respective 46- and 60-yard campaigns; Henry managed to unlock the third $250,000 escalator in the fourth quarter against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Khyiris Tonga and Jack Gibbens, on the other hand, played enough snaps during the regular season to earn parts of their incentive packages.
Half of the Patriots with incentives in their contracts failed to earn any of them. An 11th player,...
