ESPN: Geno Smith Not on Pace to Earn $8M on Benchmark Stats in Seahawks Contract

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The recent struggles for Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks could prove costly for the 33-year-old quarterback.

Per ESPN’s Brady Henderson, Smith is on track to miss out on a total of $8 million worth of escalators in his contract for not hitting four different statistical benchmarks:

“Smith isn’t on pace to hit any of the four statistical benchmarks (4,282 passing yards, 30 touchdown passes, 69.755% completion rate, 100.874 passer rating) that each come with $2 million escalators. But he will qualify for a $2 million bump if the Seahawks reach the playoffs or win 10 games (provided he plays 80% of the offensive snaps). That would set Smith up to make $24.5 million in 2024 with a $33.2 million cap number.”

When the Seahawks signed Smith to a new contract in the offseason, it was reported as a three-year deal worth up to $105 million. The details within the agreement made it clear the team was still hedging about him as their long-term solution at quarterback.

All of the guaranteed money was in the first year, allowing the Seahawks to get out of it after 2023 with very little impact on their salary cap.

Per Over the Cap, the Seahawks would take an $8.7 million dead cap hit and save $22.5 million against the cap in 2024 if Smith is a post-June 1 cut.

Henderson noted when details of Smith’s contract initially came out the $105 million value of the deal that was reported included $30 million in additional money.

It wasn’t absurd for Smith to sign a deal that included $2 million in escalators for those four specific benchmarks. The totals he had to hit this season were the exact numbers he had in 2022.

There was a reasonable argument to think Smith could do it again, especially since the Seahawks seemed like they were on an upward trajectory after a terrific draft in 2022. They also added to their group of skill-position players in this year’s draft by adding Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Zach Charbonnet.

Injuries and underwhelming performances from many key players have taken a toll on this team.

Smith is in the group of underwhelming performers. His completion percentage (65.4), passing yards per game (234.9) and quarterback rating (88.9) are all down significantly. He has thrown 12 touchdown passes, which is tied for 19th out of 28 quarterbacks who have played at least eight games.

After a 5-2 start to the season, the Seahawks have lost three of their last four games. Smith can earn one of his $2 million escalators if they make the playoffs or win at least 10 games.

The Seahawks currently sit in sixth in the NFC standings. The schedule is brutal for the next three weeks, starting with Thursday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. They follow that up by playing the San Francisco 49ers in Week 14 and Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15.