KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wide receiver Sammy Watkins will be back with the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2020 season.
Yahoo Sports Senior NFL writer Terez Paylor broke new of the deal and its details Friday morning on Twitter.
The Chiefs have reached an agreement with Sammy Watkins on a new 1-year deal that will pay him a base of $9m for 2020 with an incentive package that can reach $16m, a source tells me.
— Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) April 3, 2020
The move creates $5m in cap space for the Chiefs to operate this offseason.
Watkins had been set to make $21 million next season, including a $14 million base salary and signing bonus.
Under terms of the restructured one-year agreement, Watkins is guaranteed $9 million with incentives that could push the contract's value to $16 million.
The move provides an extra $5 million for the Chiefs against the salary cap.
Kansas City needed to create cap space to be able to sign is rookie class in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft and continued to add players in the quest to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
Watkins, a former No. 4 overall pick out of Clemson in the 2014 draft, took to Twitter to share his excitement.
Im back KC LETS GET IT..! #RUNITBACKTOUR
— King me (@sammywatkins) April 3, 2020
Watkins, who signed a three-year deal worth $48 million before the 2018 season with the Chiefs, has appeared in 24 regular-season games during the last two seasons. He's totaled 92 catches for 1,192 yards with six receiving touchdowns during that span.
But Watkins has really shined during the last two postseasons.
In five playoff games with the Kansas City, including the Super Bowl LIV victory in early February, Watkins has totaled 25 catches for 464 yards with a touchdown and 18 first downs.
