Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Sammy Watkins.
While most of America was sleeping Friday morning, Terez Paylor of Yahoo Sports announced that Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Sammy Watkins inked a one-year contract to remain in Kansas City another year.
The Chiefs have reached an agreement with Sammy Watkins on a new 1-year deal that will pay him a base of $9m for 2020 with an incentive package that can reach $16m, a source tells me.
The move creates $5m in cap space for the Chiefs to operate this offseason.
Per Paylor’s report, the deal is worth $9 million and can increase up to $16 million after incentives and most importantly takes $5 million off the 26-year-old’s 2020 cap total. Check out a breakdown of the contract below.
#Chiefs deal for Sammy Watkins:
—$1m signing bonus
—$7m base salary
—$1m in per-game roster bonuses
—Up to $1m playtime/TD incentives (75% or 7 TDs gets him the full $1m)
—Up to $6m in performance and postseason incentives (See next tweet)
—No-trade clause
Watkins, who during the postseason had discussed the possibility of staying in Kansas City, seemed to be happy with the news, sharing his enthusiasm via Twitter.
Im back KC LETS GET IT..! #RUNITBACKTOUR
Watkins in KC Has the Mahomes Approval
Chiefs Kingdom Twitter was thrilled with the revelation of Watkins’ deal, including Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes. In a response to the Clemson product’s news, Mahomes referred to his teammate as “My brother” in a tweet and accompanied the caption with a gif of rapper Drake nodding.
While he didn’t exactly follow up with remarks of his own, fellow wideout Tryeek Hill also retweeted Watkins’ tweet, signifying his approval as well. Mahomes’ reactions mirrors that of others online who were delighted for the former Buffalo Bill.
Remember when Sammy Watkins let Stephon Gilmore have it 👀😳https://t.co/ZG085najRe
For 9 mil a year (plus incentives) Sammy Watkins is 100% a great deal.
If you tell me he has an average regular season but balls in playoffs again, I’ll take that number 24/7/365.
During the Chiefs’ Super Bowl-winning campaign, Watkins caught 52 passes for 673 yards and three touchdowns, his highest numbers since 2015. In the postseason, he led the team with 288 receiving yards.