Details on Sammy Watkins’ Incentive Heavy Deal w/ Packers

Shortly after the news broke that the Green Bay Packers were signing veteran free agent receiver Sammy Watkins, we learned that it was a one-year deal worth up to $4 million. Well, now we have the specifics of the contract, and it is very — and I mean very — incentive heavy.

The details of Watkins’ incentive-heavy contract with the Green Bay Packers

According to Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Watkins’ contract is worth $1.85 million, which includes a $1.12 million base salary, a total of $330,000 in per-game roster bonuses, and a $50,000 workout bonus. Wood also adds that only the $350,000 signing bonus is guaranteed.

Below, Ryan lays out all of the incentives that Watkins could potentially hit, which, as already mentioned, could earn him up to $4 million.

Given the current state of the wide receiver room, I would be a bit surprised if Watkins isn’t on the Week 1 roster, but when considering how his contract is structured and with the Packers only on the hook for $350,000 if they were to cut him, from a salary cap perspective, Watkins is far from a guaranteed roster lock–especially with Green Bay deciding not to add any voided years to his contract.

Injuries have, unfortunately, been a part of Watkins’ career. He has appeared in all 16 games just one time in his eight-year career, and that happened during his rookie season. Over the last two seasons, Watkins has played in only 23 games, and he hasn’t played in more than 10 games in three of the past four seasons.

However, there is certainly still value that Watkins can offer. The Green Bay Packers were in desperate need of a veteran presence on the boundary to provide some stability to this wide receiver room–not to mention he is familiar with Matt LaFleur’s offense after spending time with him and Sean McVay in Los Angeles in 2017.

If it takes any rookie(s) time to adjust to the NFL level — which to varying degrees, it will — Watkins will be there for Rodgers to lean on, along with Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard. Also, he was still able to average 14.6 yards per catch last season as well.

As Ken Ingalls notes, due to the top-51 salary cap rules, Watkins’ cap hit is less than $1 million. Currently, Over the Cap has Green Bay with $14.05 million in available cap space–but as we always have to bring up, this figure doesn’t include the cost of the incoming draft class, practice squad, or having in-season reserves available.

The addition of Watkins can provide some needed stability and at a very low cost, but receiver still remains need No. 1 for the Green Bay Packers entering the draft. The Packers have four picks within the first two rounds and seven in the first four rounds. When it comes to specific needs that they should try to fill at the receiver position, Green Bay needs a go-to option on the boundary, a vertical threat, and some added YAC wouldn’t be a bad idea either.