Details on Drew Lock’s incentive-laden contract with the Giants

Lock could stand to make more money than was initially reported.

Former Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback Drew Lock is starting anew with the New York Giants. At the time, ESPN’s Adam Schefer reported that it was a one-year deal worth up to $5 million was the initial report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It turns out that isn’t the case, and perhaps his new deal is part of why Seattle opted not to re-sign him.

The Athletic’s Giants beat reporter Dan Duggan uncovered some details in Lock’s contract. His base is actually $5 million ($2.95 million guaranteed + $2 million signing bonus + $50,000 workout bonus), but his incentives could see him reach $8 million, which is more than the entirety of his rookie contract.

The Giants have Daniel Jones as the presumptive starter but he spent much of 2023 injured and playing poorly. It’s not inconceivable to think that Lock has a shot at significant playing time and thus the opportunity to reach his incentive targets. A minimum of 224 pass attempts is essentially the equivalent of 6-8 starts, and Jones has had two seasons with a combined 23 games missed.

For context, new Seahawks backup QB Sam Howell is on a rookie contract with a non-guaranteed base salary of $985,000. In other words, the Seahawks substantially reduced the cost of their backup, such that they could conceivably draft a rookie quarterback and have two options that have combined salaries cheaper than Lock’s 2024 base salary.

Unless John Schneider truly believed in Lock as a possible QB1, it’s easy to see why Seattle did not retain him and why Lock would sign with the Giants… other than the opportunity to embarrass the Philadelphia Eagles up to two more times.