The Jets are taking a bit of a risk on offensive tackle Tyron Smith due to his injury history. But because of that, the Jets based a good chunk of his potential 2024 compensation on how much Smith actually plays next season.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shared those playtime incentives for Smith and shows he can earn up to $12 million based on the percentage of offensive snaps he ends up playing.
First off, Smith is guaranteed $6.5 million ($2 million base salary, $4.5 million signing bonus).
As far as the $12 million from playing time, it breaks down as such for the first tier:
38% of offensive snaps: $750,000
44%: $1.75 million
50%: $2.75 million
56%: $3.75 million
62%: $4.75 million
68%: $5.75 million
Then Smith has a second tier of incentives he can also obtain. That breakdown is this:
74%: $1.25 million
80%: $2.5 million
86%: $3.75 million
92%: $5 million
98%: $6.25 million
The second tier works on top of the first tier. So, for example, if he plays 74% of the offensive snaps, he gets the $5.75 million from the first tier plus $1.25 million from the second tier for a total of $7 million. So if he plays 98% of the snaps, he gets the full $12 million.
The remaining $1.5 million comes in the form of playoff wins and the Pro Bowl. Smith gets $250,000 for each playoff win ($1 million max) and an additional $500,000 for the Pro Bowl.
Altogether, Smith can earn $20 million this season.
With the first playtime incentive likely to be listed as a “likely to be earned” incentive, that amount will count against the Jets’ cap this season, making his 2024 cap hit $12.25 million. If he plays more and makes more, that amount will be charged against the 2025 salary cap. If he plays and makes less, the Jets will get a salary cap credit for the amount.
That’s if the Jets keep this all in one year. Joe Douglas does have the option to use void years as well to spread out the cap hit.