Nov 30, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) reacts after the game against the Denver Broncos at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images
Marcus Mariota triggers contract clause Commanders could pay again in London 1
Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes in his first start in place of Jayden Daniels, and the Washington Commanders held off the Seattle Seahawks 33-31 at Northwest Stadium on Sunday for their first win of the season.
Washington came in 0-2 after Daniels dislocated his left elbow against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, the second dislocation of that elbow in 11 months. Seattle arrived as the defending Super Bowl champion with 12 straight wins, a run that included last season’s playoffs. Mariota finished 19 of 31 for 183 yards without an interception, and his best throw came off a scramble early in the third quarter, a 30-yard touchdown to Terry McLaurin that put the Commanders ahead 24-10.
Marcus Mariota’s win over the Seahawks just earned him a $200,000 bonus.
Mariota gets $200K each time he plays at least 60% of the snaps in a win, up to 12 wins. pic.twitter.com/SoWsZbGDXa
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 27, 2026
Nov 30, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) reacts after the game against the Denver Broncos at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn ImagesNov 30, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) reacts after the game against the Denver Broncos at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images
Nov 30, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) reacts after the game against the Denver Broncos at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images
Mariota’s one-year, $7 million contract with Washington pays him $200,000 for every regular-season game in which he plays at least 60% of the offensive snaps and the team wins, and Sunday cleared both bars. Another $4 million in incentives sits on top of the base value of the deal.
The structure ties a backup’s upside to the one outcome Washington needs while Daniels is out: a game Mariota plays most of, ending in a win. His 2025 deal carried the same clause, and it paid out only twice, after wins over the Las Vegas Raiders in September and the New York Giants in December, as Washington went 2-6 in his starts that season.
Mariota scores an extra $200,000 for the #Commanders victory over the Raiders today. https://t.co/oMGKwCTaVZ
— Spotrac (@spotrac) September 21, 2025
Sam Darnold nearly handed him another loss for that column, rallying Seattle to a tie early in the fourth quarter. Kain Medrano then intercepted Darnold and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown with 3:57 to play. After Cooper Kupp’s late score pulled Seattle within two, Mariota sealed it with a 9-yard keeper on third-and-7, and he had gone to the locker room for an IV before that final series.
“The more that adversity hits, the more that the circumstances kind of pin us against the wall, these guys find a way,” Mariota said. “I’m grateful to be a part of it.”
Kansas City Chiefs, Marcus MariotaKansas City Chiefs, Marcus Mariota
Dec 20, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) looks on from the sidelines after being injured during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images
Will Marcus Mariota get another shot at the bonus in London?
Daniels will not undergo surgery and has not been placed on injured reserve, with Washington treating him as week-to-week, and he is reportedly unlikely to return for the London trip in Week 4.
“It’s one week,” Mariota said, “but it could be a steppingstone for us.”
The Commanders fly to London on Tuesday night and play the Indianapolis Colts as the home team at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 4, with kickoff at 9:30 a.m. ET. If Mariota handles most of the snaps there and Washington wins, another $200,000 lands in the bag.