Details released on Cam Newton’s contract with the Patriots

On Thursday morning, MMQB’s Albert Breer piggy-backed on a report from CBS’s Jason La Confora and provided details regarding the structure of Cam Newton’s contract with the Patriots.

The cap-strapped Patriots’ newest QB will carry a cap hit of $1,137,500 into the 2020 season. His $1.05M salary is the lowest possible for a player with nine credited seasons under his belt. Since Newton was active for just two games in 2019, his $700,000 in per-game roster bonuses will be considered likely to be earned (LTBE) for two games in 2020 — or $87,500 total. The team will lose $43,750 for each game Newton is active after his second active game.

The details of Cam’s incentives have yet to be released, but the presumption is that all $5.75M of them will be considered NLTBE, given that any likely to be earned incentives would count right away toward this year and put the team over the salary cap, which would not be allowed by the league office.

Per Patriots cap guru Miguel Benzan, the Patriots just managed to fit the deal under the cap after Newton’s salary replaced Tashawn Bower’s $750,000 salary in the top-51.

Given the Patriots’ salary cap situation all offseason, not much can be gleaned from these details with regard to how the organization views Newton’s chances of winning the starting job. However, if Newton secures the starting gig and the team has success while he flashes glimpses of peak form, it’s important to note that the contract contains no clause preventing New England from franchise tagging him in 2021.