The Cincinnati Bengals got back in the win column in Week 7 with recent trade pickup and current starting quarterback Joe Flacco logging his first win with the team.
Soon the 2012 Super Bowl champion and MVP could reap greater individual rewards from his stint as Cincinnati’s new starter.
While the Bengals likely hope Flacco is merely a stopgap until starter Joe Burrow returns, the 40-year-old has an incentive to hope his stay under center lasts as long as possible thanks to language in his contract.
The former Baltimore Ravens first-round pick (No. 18 overall in 2008) is on a one-year, $4.2 million contract, and he has earned $183.6 million in his 17-plus-year career. But he could make himself even richer if he remains Cincinnati’s starter.
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ESPN's Dan Graziano examined Flacco's contract, noting a "per-game incentive bonus" which will pay the QB $75,000 every win in which he logs at least 50% of the offensive snaps. The clause does not kick in until his fourth start, though, so there remains work for the veteran.
"Let's say, for example, the Bengals win six more games in which Flacco plays at least half of their offensive snaps (bringing his total to eight for the season). He would earn an additional $375,000 ($75,000 each for Games 4-8 that meet the conditions). If the Bengals win their remaining 10 games and Flacco plays in at least half of their offensive snaps in all of them, he’d earn an additional $675,000," Graziano wrote on Wednesday.
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"He can make up to $3 million in additional incentives tied to playing time and success. If he plays between 60% and 69.99% of his team’s offensive snaps, he gets a $500,000 bonus. If he plays between 70% and 79.99%, that bonus increases to $1 million. And if he plays 80% or more, it goes up to $1.5 million."
That is not all, though. If Flacco checks the aforementioned boxes and the Bengals make the postseason, his bonuses would double.
Burrow is not expected to return to the field until just before Christmas, at the earliest.
"My guess is the last two or three games of the season, he has a chance," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on "NFL on ESPN" on Tuesday. "If they're alive, then I think we really may see Burrow, which is suddenly pretty realistic."
That would give Flacco seven more games, which, based on Graziano's reporting, could earn him up to an additional $525,000 in per-game bonuses from the Bengals this season.
With all of the extra money he can earn, Flacco is well-positioned to cash in if all goes well.
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