A full breakdown of Cam Newton’s new contract with the Patriots

Cam Newton’s contract broken down by incentive.

Cam Newton is ready to take on the challenge of being the quarterback to succeed Tom Brady in New England. It’s a task that not many people would be willing to take head-on. However, it’s different for Newton.

As fans saw with the Patriots’ official announcement of the signing on social media, the quarterback is “hungrier than ever.” And, he’ll need to be if he wants to succeed in an organization that’s become so accustomed to winning.

Now, over a week after the reported signing, and after a lot of speculation about what the exact terms of Newton’s one-year deal would be, a breakdown of the contract has been shared by ESPN’s Field Yates.

Newton will make $1.05 million just for being on the 53-man roster for all 16 weeks, and he’ll make an additional $700,000 if he’s on the active 46-man roster for all 16 games.

On top of that, the quarterback has chances to earn bonuses based on being on the field, broken-down in the playing-time incentives. They are tiered, so the more Newton is on the field, the more he’ll make (up to $3.75 million if the team makes the playoffs, and he’s played 90% of the snaps).

If Newton stays healthy and plays up to his ability, those are all obtainable.

The tougher incentives come in the form of the Pro Bowl, All-Pro, and playoff win bonuses. Getting all three would earn him an extra $2 million, but it will be extremely difficult to earn those honors and win playoff games.

Compared to the assumptions that were made about what the incentives could be, these seem to be a bit more challenging for Newton to earn. After the performance that the Patriots put up in the postseason last year, confidence hasn’t been instilled just yet in this iteration of the team.

And, only two quarterbacks will be named to the All-Pro teams. As much as fans and the team may believe in Newton’s ability, to say that he’ll be one of the two best quarterbacks in the league this season is a long shot.

By the end of this contract, Newton will probably earn a fair amount of the incentives, but he’ll have to put up a historic year to collect all of them.

[vertical-gallery id=90756]