2023 will be a massive season for the 2020 sixth-round pick Quez Watkins, and as he looks towards a contract extension, the speedy wideout has earned a salary increase.
Watkins will be rewarded with a bump in salary next season, thanks to a salary escalator.
The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement ensures proven performance escalators for players drafted between rounds three and seven and signed to the typical four-year rookie contracts.
If those players can log snap counts of 35% or better in at least two of their first three seasons in the NFL (or play 35% or more of total snaps during those three years), they qualify for an increased base salary in their fourth year.
Watkins is the only player to earn the increase according to Over The Cap after he logged a snap count of 10.5% of the snaps as a rookie, 68.8% in 2021, and 57.8.% in 2022, giving the pass catcher a 45.7% average for his career.
Players eligible for the PPE will see their fourth-year base salary escalate to the season’s lowest restricted free agent (RFA) tender.
For Watkins, that means a jump in pay from $1 million to $2,785,415 fully guaranteed per Over The Cap.
