The New England Patriots will give Rob Gronkowski the opportunity to become the highest-paid tight end in the NFL in the upcoming season.
Gronk and the Pats agreed to restructure the tight end’s contract, giving him the chance to raise his pay from $5.25 million this season to potentially $10.75 million.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Gronk’s salary will be boosted if he reaches one of three tiers in 2017. The tiers are dependent upon statistics and playing time achieved.
Here is what Gronk would need to do to reach any of the tiers, per Schefter:
1st tier ($10.75M) – Either 90 percent play time or 80 catches or 1,200 receiving yards or All Pro.
2nd tier ($8.75M) – 80 percent play time or 70 catches or 1,000 receiving yards or 12 TDs.
3rd tier ($6.75M) – 70 percent play time, 60 receptions, 800 receiving yards or 10 TDs.
Gronk could obviously trigger a pay raise quite easily if he plays how he has in many of his fine seasons. The Patriots would probably only be too happy to pay, because that means Gronk is playing for them and doing well.
