Jimmy Garoppolo Receives $79K Bonus for Patriots Reaching Super Bowl LII
January 22, 2018
The New England Patriots traded Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers during the regular season, but they earned him a bonus with Sunday's victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Garoppolo pocketed $79,000 thanks to New England's two playoff wins and AFC title.
He's not done making money, either, as Schefter noted the signal-caller would earn an additional $112,000 if the Patriots win the Super Bowl and $56,000 if they lose.
Despite finishing the season on the West Coast, Garoppolo has been a central figure in the off-field storylines circulating the Patriots in their quest for back-to-back titles.
A January story from Seth Wickersham of ESPN.com delved into the reported power struggles between owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, including the notion Belichick didn't want to trade Garoppolo.
However, Wickersham detailed a meeting between the owner and coach where Kraft implied Garoppolo had to be traded, which apparently left Belichick "furious and demoralized."
It should be noted the Patriots said some of the story was "highly exaggerated or flat-out inaccurate" in an issued statement.
Even if Belichick didn't want to give up on Garoppolo's bright future, the present quarterback looked more than capable of winning another ring Sunday when he connected with Danny Amendola for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Jacksonville held a double-digit lead in the final frame but couldn't stop Brady in crunch time as he finished 26-of-38 for 290 yards and the two scores.
Considering New England has won two of the last three Super Bowls with Brady at the helm and five in total since 2000, Garoppolo appears primed to make an even bigger amount of bonus money without setting foot on the field in the playoffs.