Reviewing Terrelle Pryor’s contract with Washington, and why he didn’t return to the Browns

We’ve heard a lot of things about why WR Terrelle Pryor is no longer a member of the Cleveland Browns. Long story short, the Browns offered him a better deal than any other team in the NFL at about $8.5 million a year over four years. He and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, were hoping to get $13 to $15 million on the free agent market. It didn’t happen, but Pryor feels like that is what he is worth and did not want to lock in to a lesser deal, even if Cleveland’s was the best offer on the table.

His one-year deal with Washington serves as a “prove it” contract. He is willing to accept a bargain-level one-year deal with the confidence that he’ll have an electric season, and will get that $15 million a year contract in 2018. He is betting on himself. Why didn’t he do that one-year “prove it” contract in Cleveland? That is where I think Rosenhaus stepped in and had too much pride, after everything that went down, to come sulking back to Cleveland.

Anyway, let’s take a look at the contract that Pryor did end up receiving with the Redskins:

• Base Salary: $3 million
• Signing Bonus: $3 million
• Possible Incentives: $2 million

It’s a 1-year, $6 million deal that is guaranteed. The interesting part of the deal involves the incentives, which we can dig deeper in to thanks to Pro Football Talk:

There are three separate incentives that Pryor can reach, each of which has different levels, with a maximum incentive of $2 million.

• Receptions: This is the most attainable incentive, worth up to $1 million. He will get $250,000 for 60 catches, $600,000 for 70 catches, and the full $1 million for 80 catches or more. So, if it’s late in the season or if he’s dealing with a nagging injury, you can understand why he’d be motivated to still gut things out.
• Receiving Yards: He will get $150,000 for 750 yards, $300,000 for 1,000 yards, and $500,000 for 1,250 yards.
• Touchdowns: He will get $100,000 for 6 TDs, $300,000 for 8 TDs, and $500,000 for 10 TDs.

To summarize, in order to get the full $2 million in incentives, he needs to have an 80-catch, 1,250-yard, 10-touchdown season. If he does that, he’s definitely getting paid next year too.

Pryor was a guest on the Dan Patrick Show today, and you get listen to the full interview below:

Pryor had kind words for the Browns’ organization, saying he respected what Sashi Brown and Hue Jackson were doing. He also commented that he wants to prove he’s not a one-trick pony, so his one-year deal with Washington is a “prove-it” deal.