Report: Taysom Hill Must Throw 224 Passes in a Season to Be Paid as Quarterback

Hill can make an additional $55 million total if he hits certain benchmarks as a passer.

Taysom Hill is one of the most unique players in the NFL and now he is getting a contract to match. The Saints have not used Hill as their starting quarterback this year as they previously did last season when Drew Brees retired. If that changes over the next few years, Hill could cash in.

On Monday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Hill signed a four-year deal worth a base of $40 million, with $22.5 million guaranteed. However, if Hill ascends to the starting quarterback role for the franchise, that figure could move up to $95 million.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk has more on how that incentive will be decided. For Hill to be treated as a starting quarterback by the terms of his deal, he has to throw 224 passes in a given season, Florio reports. That equals just over 13 per game based on the 17 game schedule.

"The number comes from the labor deal; it’s the minimum pass-attempt threshold for incentives," Florio says. "For incentives in playoff games, the quarterback trigger is 10 passes per game."

That may be a difficult benchmark for Hill to hit, especially if this season is any indication.

Hill lost the starting quarterback battle to Jameis Winston in the preseason, going back to his hybrid H-back role for the most part. Even now, with Winston out for the season, Sean Payton has tabbed Trevor Siemian and not Hill to run the offense. 

On the season, Hill is 7 of 8 for 56 yards and an interception. He set a career-high for pass attempts in 2020, when he spent part of the year as the team's true starter, completing 88 of 121 throws. If he can get back into that role, the 224 pass attempts are very attainable.

From Weeks 10–13, Hill attempted an average of 28.5 passes per game with Brees out, which was more than double what he would need on a per-game average over a full season. 

Outside of those four games, he has not attempted more than three passes in any game.

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