Josh McCown Jets Contract Breakdown

Rich Cimini has a detailed breakdown of the Jets’ contract with quarterback Josh McCown.

Breakdown of Josh McCown's one-year, $6 million contract with the Jets: The $6 million is fully guaranteed. He receives $125,000 for each game in which he plays 50 percent or more of the snaps (max: $2 million). He receives another $2 million if the team makes the playoffs (with 65 percent play time). He gets another $1.5 million if they reach the Super Bowl (with 65 percent play time) and $1.5 million if they win the Super Bowl (65 percent).

Guaranteeing the $6 million was a formality. As a vested veteran, McCown’s salary would become guaranteed if he was on the Week 1 roster. Since there was little chance of him being cut in camp anyway, he was going to get that $6 million.

When it comes to evaluating the quality of this deal, my feelings are similar to those I had when the Jets signed Ben Ijalana, mainly disappointment.

If you watch the way teams operate in this league, there are many that set apart the successful and the unsuccessful franchises. One of them is the knowledge that bottom tier players like McCown and Ijalana are always readily available for very cheap prices.

It is disappointing for me to see the Jets spend so much money on a player who is so unlikely to have any sort of positive impact on the field.