Details emerge on Geno Smith’s incentive-laden contract extension

On Monday, the Seattle Seahawks announced that quarterback Geno Smith had agreed to a three-year contract extension that’s reportedly worth up to $105 million. Smith’s Average Annual Value (AAV) of $35 million per year puts him in Kirk Cousins and Derek Carr territory, but there’s a caveat!

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo has some additional details on Smith’s contract, which is really $25 million a season and the incentives would make up the remaining $30 million, hence you get a $35 million AAV.

Of course, if Geno doesn’t meet those incentives (which could entail Pro Bowl selections, statistical milestones, playoff appearances, etc. like his 2022 deal) then the contract ends up being a bit cheaper and likely easier to get out of if things go south. If he hits those incentives, then that is tremendous news for Seahawks fans because that means Geno would be continuing his high-level play and Seattle would probably be a playoff-caliber team. We’ll find out the true cap hits and other key details in due time.

The big thing is that the contract is really 3/$75 and not 3/$105, so the AAV is just a bit of semantics. This is as team-friendly as it gets, and if Geno can even slightly improve upon his 2022 season then this deal will look like an absolute gem for John Schneider and company. It’s also cheap enough that the idea of the Seahawks drafting Geno’s successor at quarterback next month is not completely off the table.

If even (effectively) $25 million per year is too much for you to handle, then presumably you wouldn’t have supported re-signing Geno at any reasonable rate whatsoever.