Alijah Vera-Tucker’s Patriots contract includes significant incentives in one area

Late on Monday night, the New England Patriots dipped into free agency to help their offensive line signing guard Alijah Vera-Tucker. It was initially reported as a three-year, $42 million deal.

Now the details are coming in on how that money is broken up. Only half of Vera-Tucker's contract is fully guaranteed, at $21 million dollars according to NFL insider Aaron Wilson.

That's not surprising given Vera-Tucker's injury history. He's played just 43 games over his five-year NFL career. In 2022 he was limited to seven games as he missed most of the season with a torn triceps injury, then an Achilles injury held him to just five games in 2023. After playing 15 games in 2024, he missed all of last season after tearing his other triceps.

On this new contract, Vera-Tucker will need to stay on the field to maximize the deal. It includes $250K in per-game active roster bonuses. That means Vera-Tucker can earn an extra $4.25 million per year and $12.75 million over the course of the contract just by playing. According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, it's "one of the biggest per-game active roster bonuses in NFL history."

All of the guaranteed money on the contract is spread over the first two years. It also includes a $7.2 million signing bonus, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.

In total, the Patriots committed $50.1 dollars in guaranteed money, including $34.1 million in first year cash on the first day of NFL free agency, according to OverTheCap.com. That does not include the signing of wide receiver Romeo Doubs, which was reported on Tuesday afternoon.