Terry McLaurin is one of the most beloved members of the Washington Commanders, and it has been that way since he was drafted in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
The two-time Pro Bowler and 2024 second-team All-Pro has racked up 7191 receiving yards and 42 receiving touchdowns. His receiving yardage ranks fifth all-time behind Art Monk, Charlie Taylor, Gary Clark and Santana Moss, putting him in some elite company!
That’s why it was so difficult to hear he was lost for the season after suffering
a torn patellar tendon in a Week 6 loss to San Francisco.
In 2025, McLaurin staged a hold-in to get a new contract. Agent Buddy Baker, who represented Terry during his negotiations, walked away with a new three-year dealworth more than $96M with incentives and escalators. However, these numbers are not exactly what they appear.
Guaranteed Money
When looking at any NFL contract, the guaranteed portion is the one that really matters. Terry received almost $45M in guaranteed money, $30M of which was in the form of a signing bonus and his 2025 and 2026 base salaries. The final two years of his deal are not guaranteed.
Where this gets interesting is the injury language for 2027. At signing, $5.35M was guaranteed for injury. Because of the nature of his recent knee injury, he’d have to pass a physical before April 1st 2027, or that money could become guaranteed.
Now, there is the option the team could agree to an injury settlement if they want to part ways and he’s not on track in his rehab program.
Incentives
Terry had a lot of incentives put into the new deal he signed in the summer of 2025. Each of these were based on the three years of his “NEW” deal.
- 83+ catches = $300K or 83+ catches and a playoff berth = $600K
- 1,097+ receiving yards = $300K or 1,097 receiving yards and a playoff berth = $600K
- 10+ receiving TDs = $300K or 10+ receiving TDs and a playoff berth = $600K
*The maximum amount he can earn here is $1.8M.
With the injury and him being on season-ending IR, none of the incentives for 2026 will be met.
Terry also has an incentive from 2025-2028 if he is selected to the Pro Bowl (as an original, not as an alternate). This is worth $250K/year. He was not selected to the original Pro Bowl in 2025 and will not be selected in 2026.
Aside from the Pro Bowl incentive he’s eligible for from 2025-2028, McLaurin also has an All-Pro escalator for the new years on his deal (2026-2028) worth $500K/year which would carry over to the year after he was selected. He will not make first or second team All-Pro in 2026, so no escalator will trigger for 2027.
Bonuses
Terry has a roster bonus that pays him up to $850K/year if he’s active for all 17 regular season games. He will obviously not max that out in 2026. He also has a $500K bonus for all three new years of his deal if he participates in voluntary workouts. Finally, he has a roster bonus for the final two years of his deal (2027 and 2028). If he’s on the offseason roster in 2027 his bonus is $850K. If he is on the offseason roster in 2028, that jumps to $4M. Both of these bonuses would be triggered on April 1st of that calendar year.
If McLaurin is not healthy by April 1, 2027, a guaranteed $5.35M could go into effect unless the team parts way and agrees to an injury settlement. Aside from the injury, there are no guarantees in 2027. The team does have some dead cap that was a result of his prorated signing bonus, but a post-June 1 release allows that to be spread out – making a dead cap hit of just $6M in 2027 with a savings of $28M.
It’s possible the team looks to restructure his deal and pay him more in line with fair market value for someone of his age (will turn 32 at the start of the 2027 season) and injury history, but with Dan Quinn likely gone after the season (or maybe during it), a new head coach may have some say as to if he sees McLaurin in the team’s future plans.
If we look at how GM Adam Peters structured McLaurin’s new deal in the summer of 2025, I think the writing was on the wall even prior to this most recent injury.
Friends, I believe we have seen the last of Terry McLaurin in a Washington jersey.
Nothing but RESPECT!
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