Let’s hope the Kansas City Chiefs go ahead and reward WR JuJu Smith-Schuster after he came so incredibly close to a contract incentive.
When the Kansas City Chiefs signed JuJu Smith-Schuster during the offseason, the contract itself was what is often called a “prove-it deal” in free agency circles. It’s a short-term deal in which a player, often a young one with true potential for another future payday, chooses to sign with a team in order to boost his stock—to prove his worth—in order to leverage that into a better deal the next time around, typically one year later.
Coming into free agency the previous spring, Smith-Schuster was coming off of a frustrating season for both team and player. At the time, he’d rejected overtures from the Chiefs to re-sign for one more year with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the hopes of making one more run with the team that drafted him. It was rumored to Big Ben Roethlisberger’s last year, and the “home” ties were too strong to ignore.
Unfortunately for Smith-Schuster, all of his plans went awry when the Steelers went 9-7-1 and were bounced in the Wild Card round by the Chiefs in a lopsided postseason opener. But Smith-Schuster wasn’t even a part of that game, after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury back in Week 5. Only one month into his final season, he was looking ahead to another round of free agency as damaged goods.
For the Chiefs, Smith-Schuster signed a single-season deal with only $2.49 million guaranteed after five seasons with the Steelers. As part of that prove-it contract, however, general manager Brett Veach added some important incentives.
Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster didn't meet the criteria for a $1M incentive due to a knee injury in the AFC title game. He needed at least 50% offensive playtime in a KC win, 65 catches & 900 receiving yards in the regular season. He had 45% playtime. Hopefully, it's paid anyway.
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) January 30, 2023
For the Chiefs, Smith-Schuster had a strong year, one that should make the Chiefs think twice about bringing him back—likely on a longer deal than before. That’s because he stepped up into that top wide receiver role and became a go-to target for Patrick Mahomes. Smith-Schuster finished the regular season with 72 catches for 933 yards and 3 touchdowns—healthy numbers that deserve the incentives.
Per Spotrac, there are even more incentives if Smith-Schuster can play 50% of the snaps in this year’s Super Bowl. The Chiefs are hoping that one comes true knowing how many injuries there are on the depth chart at the present time.
In the meantime, let’s hope the Chiefs reward a guy who proved it when they asked him to.