The Las Vegas Raiders had to turn to backup quarterback Marcus Mariota on Thursday night after Derek Carr exited the game with a groin injury.
It was Mariota's first action of the season, and the league's highest-paid backup QB ($7.5 million base salary) took advantage. Despite the Raiders' overtime loss, the former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 overall pick completed 17-of-28 passes for 226 yards, one TD and one interception against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Oh, and he earned an extra $825,000 for his appearance, too.
According to ESPN's Field Yates, Mariota has a $200,000 incentive in his $17.6 million deal that kicks in if he plays 60% of snaps in any game this season. He will also earn an extra $625,000 added to his base salary for 2021 after Thursday's reps. A win would have given him another $125,000, but unfortunately the Raiders fell just short.
While the first year of Mariota's contract was guaranteed at $7.5 million, the rest of his deal is laden with all sorts of incentives.
According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, Mariota could earn up to $2.4 million more for games in which he plays 60 percent of total snaps. Among other incentives, he would earn $2 million for making an appearances in the playoffs, and could earn up to $10 million in incentives during the 2021 season.
Mariota's contract also includes a “salary escalator” that could increase his base salary from $10 to $12 million. If he were to hit all the markers (which is unlikely), the backup's deal could be worth over $37 million in total.
It's looking like Carr might miss the last two games of the regular season, so Mariota could very well get his chance to earn more money to finish out this campaign, which likely will end with the Raiders missing the playoffs.
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