The contract terms for Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Zay Jones are yet another example of how agents inflate contract terms to national reporters to make them look better than they really are.
When Jones re-signed, the initial numbers made public called it a $4.4 million deal for one year without the tell-tale words “up to” or “max.”
So, yes, Jones could earn $4.4 million, but only if he plays all 17 games and, most significantly, hits performance incentives for receptions and receiving yards totaling $2 million.
In actuality, the base value of the contract is $2.4 million, including the per-game roster bonuses. The total guaranteed is $1.3 million.
Here’s the breakdown:
Zay Jones contract details
2025 salary: $1.36 million with $650,000 guaranteedSigning bonus: $650,000Offseason workout bonus: $50,000Per-game active roster bonus: $20,000 for a max total of $340,000Receptions incentive: $500,000 for 50, $750,000 for 60, $1 million for 70Receiving yards: $500,000 for 600, $750,000 for 700, $1 million for 800The incentive is not cumulative, so $1 million in each category is the most Jones can receive.
Zay Jones career tidbits
During his eight-year career, Jones had at least 60 receptions once (82 in 2022) and 600 yards twice (652 in 2018 and 823 in 2022).
He played all his team’s games three times: 16 in 2018 and 2020, and 17 in 2021.
The salary cap charge is $2.28 million and the per-game bonus for the cap is computed based on the 11 games that he was active last season.
For the 12 signed players with published contract details (Jones, Simi Fehoko, Jacoby Brissett, Dalvin Tomlinson, Josh Sweat, Baron Browning, Mykal Walker, L.J. Collier, Evan Brown, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Joey Blount and Aaron Brewer) plus the 1-year restricted free-agent tender for Greg Dortch, the total cap hit this year is $48.047 million.
We still so not have official figures for additions Jake Curhan, Jaylon Jones and Royce Newman along with re-signed player Kelvin Beachum.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: WR Zay Jones salary, contract details, cap hit with Arizona Cardinals
