Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield had to concede over $3 million to allow for the trade from Cleveland to go through. However, he did have some stipulations in his contract with the Panthers that would allow him to try and make that money. The problem is the bonuses and incentives Mayfield would have to hit are highly unlikely.
According ESPN Fantasy Insider Field Yates, there are a variety of incentives.
Baker Mayfield has a chance to earn back the $3.5M in salary he gave up as part of the trade to Carolina through a variety of incentives. They breakdown as follows: pic.twitter.com/EBDuSYKO7h
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 19, 2022
The vast majority require Baker Mayfield to play either 75 percent or 50 percent of the snaps. If he plays 75 percent and wins 10 games, he'll get $250,000. If he leads the Panthers to a top-5 offense in the NFC or top-10 offense in the NFL, he'll get another $300,000. Also, if Mayfield leads Carolina to a top-5 finish in points scored in the NFC or top-10 in the NFL, he'll pocket another $300,000.
Some of the other stipulations required only that he play 50 percent of the team's snaps. If he leads Carolina to a divisional round win, he'll earn $500,000. If Baker Mayfield helps them win the conference championship, he gets another $600,000. Finally, if he wins the Super Bowl, he can bank on an extra $750,000. Aside from pre-requisites of snaps, if Mayfield is named a Pro Bowler, he gets $500,000.
Those are some hefty bonuses, but given the state of the Panthers, they are not very likely. The fans are aware of that fact and took to Twitter.
Oh. So he isn’t getting anything. Cool!
— jon (@onepoundbrowns) July 19, 2022
https://twitter.com/DonHoldDucks/status/1549493817065312259
So Carolina just Saved 3.5 million was my first thought 🤔
— Charles Nixon III (@IIINixon3) July 19, 2022
Just about everyone seems to believe that none of those goals are unattainable. After all, the Panthers were a mess last year and play in a division with Tom Brady. Baker Mayfield bet on himself, but he still needs to win the starting job just to hit the snap counts required.