Geno Smith’s Contract Contains No Year 3 Guarantees

Posted on by Jason Fitzgerald

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Earlier today we discussed Geno Smiths contract structure and the potential reasons behind the workout bonuses in the contract. According to Joel Corry the contract does not contain the year 3 guarantees:


So what to make of this then? We’ll its a loss for Roc Nation in that Smith becomes the first QB to not receive a premium in terms of guarantees in the 2nd round. That said it does give Smith an opportunity to earn actual cash faster than his peers, specifically in the 4th year of the contract, a year none have any guarantees.

I think for the Jets its a win. They didn’t cave in on somewhat of a precedent that had been set by some more difficult to deal with teams like the Bengals and Broncos. The bonuses nearly ensure participation in the event Smith is unhappy with his contract in 2016 and give the Jets a longer time to evaluate him in that 4th year in the event they are turning elsewhere.

For Smith the focus is simply on timing of cash flows. It is better than the rest of his comparison players so in that manner its a win provided he makes it to year 3. The worry for him would be if the Jets are bad this season and have an opportunity to draft a QB then the 3rd year guarantee may have come in handy. As a backup his salary would be low, so I don’t see that as a big concern, but still its puts him a bit behind others who were protected a little more in the event of not claiming the job quickly. If he plays as well as Dalton or Kaepernick the 3rd year guarantee will be no issue.

I would think the contract will be used against Roc Nation if a veteran agent is considering signing a 2nd/3rd round grade QB that he thinks is considering Jay Z’s agency. Its a small bullet point that can be used to discredit the job that was done. If Smith is a star, though, and has his face plastered all over NYC, it will be a moot point. The purpose of signing with Jay Z is about marketing potential and it will be tough to convince someone that they can market the player better than Jay Z will if there is any success shown by the player off the football field.

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