Chiefs Included ‘Exhaustive Protections’ In Tyreek Hill’s Contract In Case There Are More Issues

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that Tyreek Hill‘s new three-year, $54 million contract includes “exhaustive protections” for the Chiefs in the event he’s involved in another legal matter or is found to have not been truthful in the investigation into allegations that he broke his child’s arm.

According to La Canfora, Hill’s extension allows the Chiefs to essentially void any of his guarantees on a week-to-week basis for the duration of the deal should he be suspended or placed on the commissioner’s exempt list at any time.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has also made it clear in a letter to Hill upon his ruling that the league could take action at any point if new evidence or information becomes available regarding the incident.

The NFL ultimately declined to punish Hill after investigating the incident involving his son. 

Hill’s contract includes a signing bonus of just $5.8 million. La Canfora explains that teams can only recoup up to 25 percent of this bonus in the event of a suspension, which is why this figure is so low. The contract also guarantees Hill roughly $20 million overall, which is around a third of Julio Jones recently received from the Falcons. 

Hill is under contract through 2022 and will make just $720,000 in 2019. After that, Hill has guaranteed veteran minimum salaries of $820,000 and $835,000 to go along with $850,000 in 2022. 

Per La Canfora, the remainder of the contract is tied to roster bonuses with language included that allow those guarantees to void if Hill is not on the active roster or injured reserve every week through the Super Bowl the previous season or if he is not on the 90-man roster for the start of the ensuing season.

Hil would earn a $15.2 million roster bonus in 2020 that would be payable on February 15, 2021 if he was on the team’s roster every week through that Super Bowl. 

If Hill was off their roster for a suspension or on the exempt list, he would receive just the signing bonus, minimum salary in 2019 and prorated portion of his 2020 veteran-minimum salary to whatever point he was removed from the active roster. 

This language applies in 2021 when Hill has another $9.75 million roster bonus.

La Canfora says the Chiefs must decide in 2021 if they are going to execute his option for 2022, which includes a $13.5 million roster bonus and a maximum cash payout of $17.85 million.

Hill is expected to miss between 4-6 weeks with a sternoclavicular joint injury. Kansas City has not placed him on injured reserve. 

Hill, 25, is a former fifth-round pick of the Chiefs back in 2016. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $2.58 million contract when the Chiefs signed him to a new three-year $54 million extension a few days ago that includes $35.2 million guaranteed.

In 2018, Hill appeared in 16 games for the Chiefs and caught 87 passes for 1,479 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns to go along with 151 yards rushing and a touchdown. Hill also totaled 213 punt returns and one touchdown. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 7 receiver out of 117 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding Hill as the news is available.