So, the other day, I got curious about Zach Wilson, you know, the quarterback. With all the talk about his move from the Jets to the Broncos, I started wondering, what’s his actual paycheck look like? You hear these crazy numbers thrown around for athletes, but I wanted to get a real sense of it.
First thing I did was just hop on my computer and punch “how much does zach wilson make” into the search bar. Pretty straightforward, right? Got a bunch of results back immediately – sports news sites, fan forums, the usual stuff.
Lots of headlines mentioned his rookie contract, since he was a high draft pick back in 2021. That seemed like the place to start. I clicked on a couple of links that looked like they specialized in sports contracts. You know the type, sites that just list player salaries and contract details.
Okay, so I started seeing some consistent numbers. Found out he signed a 4-year rookie deal with the New York Jets. The total value was pretty big, somewhere around $35 million. But here’s the thing with NFL contracts, it’s never just one simple number paid out evenly.
Digging into the Details
I had to dig a bit deeper to understand the breakdown. Turns out, a big chunk of that $35 million was his signing bonus. That’s the money he got upfront, just for signing the contract. It was over $20 million, fully guaranteed. Nice chunk of change right off the bat.
Then there’s the base salary for each year. This is the more “regular” pay. For rookies, it starts lower and usually goes up each year of the contract. I looked for tables showing year-by-year breakdowns.
- Year 1 salary
- Year 2 salary
- Year 3 salary
- Year 4 salary (which is this year, 2024)
Found those numbers listed on a couple of reliable sites. For 2024, his base salary was supposed to be a bit over $1 million, plus a roster bonus of around $4 million that was guaranteed.
The Trade Factor
But then I remembered the trade to the Denver Broncos. That always complicates things. Who pays what? I specifically searched for “zach wilson contract trade details”.
This part took some sifting. News reports said the Jets and Broncos agreed to split his salary for 2024. It seems the Jets are actually paying most of his guaranteed money for this year, making him a pretty cheap option for the Broncos, salary-wise. The Broncos are apparently only on the hook for a small portion of his base salary, like the league minimum for a player with his experience.
So, to answer my own question, “how much does Zach Wilson make?”
Well, his original rookie contract was for about $35.15 million over four years. That included a hefty $22.9 million signing bonus. His actual cash earned each year varies. For 2024, because of the trade structure, the Broncos are paying him a relatively small amount (looks like just over $1 million), while the Jets are still paying a larger chunk (around $4 million) that was already guaranteed to him. It’s not always straightforward, these sports contracts, especially when trades happen. Took a bit of looking around, but I feel like I’ve got a much clearer picture now.
