Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals have agreed on a six-year contract extension worth around $115 million. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The structure of the contract is unknown at this point. Before everyone starts freaking out over Andy Dalton being one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league, just remember this is not Major League Baseball. In the NFL, a contract is only as good as its guarantees.
Colin Kaepernick signed a massive contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers earlier this summer that is loaded with de-escalators that can lower the value of the deal if he does not perform at a high level. The Niners can also take it year by year with Kaepernick and cut him by April 1st each offseason if they so choose.
While Dalton’s contract is likely to be structured more like Kaepernick’s than the five-year, $110 million extension Aaron Rodgers recently signed, it is still a lot of money for an unproven quarterback. The Bengals are obviously optimistic about the 26-year-old, even if he does have an 0-3 playoff record with one touchdown pass and six interceptions in the postseason.
