Which Cincinnati Bengals Players Have Reachable Incentives in Their Contracts?

The Cincinnati Bengals don’t typically work a lot of incentives into their players’ contracts. But they also don’t typically shell out $275 million deals with $219 million of it guaranteed.

The times they are a-changin’.

Joe Burrow Leads List of Bengals With Incentives Clauses in Their Contracts

Joe Burrow is one of six Bengals players who have incentives in their contracts, per OverTheCap.com. But the quarterback’s season-ending wrist injury will not have any effect on his bonus earnings this year, as his incentives don’t kick in until 2025.

From 2025 through 2029, Burrow will receive an extra $500,000 if he plays at least 65% of the offensive snaps and leads the Bengals to the AFC Championship while playing at least 50% of the snaps in the championship game.

Burrow will receive an additional $750,000 if he hits the 65% snap threshold in the regular season and wins the Super Bowl while playing 50% of the snaps in that game.

As you might expect, the other incentives are not nearly as lucrative. And most are less likely to occur than Burrow leading the Bengals to and/or winning the Super Bowl.

The most likely one to kick in this year belongs to linebacker Germaine Pratt, who will receive an extra $250,000 if he plays at least 70% of the defensive snaps. Pratt currently has logged 778 of 824 snaps, or 90%.

Bengals opponents are averaging 63 plays per game, so if that holds steady and Pratt doesn’t play another snap, he would finish at 72% and get the extra $250,000.

MORE: Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart

That incentive is in place for each of the three seasons on the $20.3 million deal he signed in March.

Defensive tackle Josh Tupou also has incentives tied to playing time, but it doesn’t look as though he will cash in this year.

Tupou’s contract calls for him to receive an extra $125,000 if he plays 45% of the defensive snaps and then another $125,000 if he hits 55%. But he’s currently at 21%.

Tupou will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Two Bengals have incentives tied to Pro Bowl selections. Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie would receive an extra $250,000, while right guard Alex Cappa would get $1 million. But neither player currently is in the top 10 of fan voting at their position.

Awuzie is in the final season of the three-year, $21.8 million contract he signed in 2021, while Cappa is signed through 2025 and has the $1 million Pro Bowl incentive in place in each season.

Tight end Irv Smith Jr., who signed a one-year, $1.8 million deal in March, is the only Bengals player with incentives tied to statistics. But it would take a remarkable four-game finish for him to earn the incentives.

Smith would get $125,000 for reaching 700 receiving yards, but he only has 97. He would receive an additional $125,000 for nine receiving touchdowns, but he only has one.

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