A few weeks ago, the New England Patriots signed RB Rhamondre Stevenson to a four-year contract extension with a base new money average of $9 million. While it took a little bit of time for the details of that contract extension, to emerge, they are now out thanks to Over the Cap. So, with that, I thought several readers might like to see the full breakdown of the Stevenson deal and it how it stacks up to the contract proposal I laid out for Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris a few weeks ago.
For starters, Stevenson received an $8 million signing bonus as part of his contract extension. Additionally, his 2024 base salary is $3.116 million, and that money is fully guaranteed as part of the terms of the new deal. It is important to note that prior to signing his extension Stevenson was set to earn $3.116 million in 2024 as a result of him qualifying for a Proven Performance Escalator raise through his first three NFL seasons. In short, Stevenson will now earn $11.116 million in 2024 with $8 million of that being considered new money.
Now, Stevenson has base salaries in 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028 of $2.75 million, $4.75 million, $6 million and $8 million, respectively. His $2.75 million base salary in 2025 is fully guaranteed as is $3.25 million of his $4.75 million base salary in 2026. That brings Stevenson’s fully guaranteed amount in his new deal to $17.116 million.
Digging deeper into Stevenson’s extension, he has the ability to earn combined roster and workout bonuses in 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028 of $1.25 million, $1.25 million, $2 million and $2 million, respectively. Stevenson’s roster bonuses are determined by game so for him to earn that full amount $5.4 million he will need to play in every game from 2025-2028. It will be surprising if he does that. Any missed game beginning in 2025 will cost him money. As for his workout bonusses in years 2025-2028, those are easy for him to earn and they total just $1.1 million, assuming he plays out the full contract.
You can see the cash flow of Stevenson’s deal in the table below and there is a breakdown of the new money cash flow as well.
Not included in the Stevenson breakdown above are his NLTBE (not likely to be earn) incentives that are in his new deal. These were made public by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network not long after the news of Stevenson’s extension had broken. As you can see below in Rapoport’s included tweet, Stevenson can earn up to an additional $3 million per year beginning in 2025 if he hits all of these incentives. Obviously, he is unlikely to earn that full extra $12 million, but he at least he has an opportunity to do so.
Below is the contract proposal that I laid out for Harris right after Stevenson signed his extension. As you can see, mine does not include incentives as the Steelers usually like to stay away from those for non-quarterbacks. The Harris proposed deal obviously includes less fully guaranteed money than Stevenson received but the trade-off for that is just two additional years instead of four. Additionally, the roster bonuses I included in the Harris proposal are tied to dates — March, specifically — and right after the start of the 2025 and 2026 NFL years. They are essentially option triggers, if you will. If he’s on the roster come those calendar dates, he earns the full bonus for that specific year.
The Harris deal I proposed, at least when compared to Stevenson’s base structure, results in the former having not only a higher new money average than the latter, but a better total cash flow and new cash flow through years two and three. Obviously, if Stevenson were to hit all of his incentives in 2025 and 2026, he would out earn Harris as the years roll on.
In closing, there is obviously no guarantee that the Steelers will sign Harris to an extension before the 2024 regular season starts. Most people reading this post would probably bet against that happening, and that’s fully understandable. However, should the Steelers wind up signing Harris to a contract extension this summer, it’s a good bet that the new deal will look somewhat similar to the one I have proposed.
