Some guy in some movie once said, “Show me the money.” Was it actually Taylor Heinicke?
Washington is on a four-game winning streak. It has knocked off the Buccaneers, Panthers, Seahawks and Raiders in a bid to secure an NFC playoff appearance in a disappointing season.
Starting quarterback Heinicke, though, has no reason to be upset with the way 2021 has gone: He has thrown 18 touchdowns to 11 interceptions as the starter and has a 7:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio during the winning streak. And the success is helping him financially in a pretty big way.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Heinicke’s contract includes a nice little bonus mechanism: For every Washington win in which Heinicke starts and plays 60 percent of the snaps, he earns a $125,000 bonus. By that measure, Heinicke has earned himself a half-million dollars during the streak.
In all, Heinicke has made an extra $750,000 while starting for Washington, in a season where he wasn’t expected to get starter snaps. Heinicke took over after Ryan Fitzpatrick went down with a hip injury in Week 1.
While the incentives aren’t exactly starting quarterback cheddar, they’re enough to make Heinicke cheese: Heinicke signed a two-year, $4.75 million contract with Washington this past offseason. The deal includes $1.5 million in guarantees, which is on the light side. The winning certainly helps.
The wins certainly are great for the team’s playoff hopes. The bottom of the NFC field is wide open, which means it still has a shot to make the dance.
Washington (6-6) now sits at .500 for the season; Heinicke’s wallet, however, is well over that mark.
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