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The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to terms on a re-worked one-year deal for wide receiver Sammy Watkins.
Watkins previously carried a $21 million dollar cap hit for the 2020 NFL season. It was a number that was entirely too much for the Chiefs to handle in 2020, which left only a handful of options for Kansas City. They could cut or trade Watkins and save $14 million against the salary cap. They opted for the other option which was to restructure his contract and keep him for the 2020 NFL season.
Really this was a win-win situation for all parties. The wide receiver market has been weak in free agency this offseason. Were Watkins to hit that market, he’d likely be unable to recoup anything close to the deal just received. The Chiefs get to keep Watkins — a player they like who is familiar with the offensive scheme — at a much lower cap number.
Here’s a look at the base salary, bonus numbers and cap numbers on Watkins’ new deal courtesy of OverTheCap:
| Year | Base Salary | Signing Bonus | Per game | Other | Cap Hit | Dead Cap |
| 2020 | $7,000,000 | $8,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,250,000 | $17,250,000 | $7,000,000 |
The latest estimation by OverTheCap puts the Chiefs at $3.4 million in total cap space. This number is likely a little different in the Chiefs’ personal accounting because a portion of that money won’t have to be paid until later on. The new deal for Watkins is full of incentives to compensate for the restructured deal. He can earn up to $6 million in performance and postseason incentives according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Here is the breakdown of those incentives courtesy of Garafolo:
- If Watkins reaches eight touchdowns and the team makes playoffs he makes $750K.
- If Watkins records 65 catches and the team makes the playoffs he makes $750K.
- If Watkins records 800 yards and the team makes the playoffs he makes $750K.
- If the team wins the AFC Championship game and Watkins plays 50% snaps he makes $1.25 million.
- If Watkins records 65 catches and the team gets to the AFC Championship game he makes $1.25 million.
- If Watkins records 800 yards and the team gets to the AFC Championship game he makes $1.25 million.
These are some pretty lofty goals for Watkins as 65 receptions are his career-high and he’s only twice reached 800 yards receiving and eight touchdowns in a season. The postseason and AFC Championship game will likely be the most attainable portions of these incentives for Watkins.
One unique note about Watkins’ contract is that he now has a no-trade clause. That means Brett Veach can’t turn around and trade Watkins during the 2020 NFL season unless Watkins were to waive that no-trade clause.
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