The Baltimore Ravens signed Derrick Henry to a two-year, $16 million contract on March 12, which with incentives could be worth up to $20 million. On page four of the eight-page agreement, some of these dollar figures earned are presented.

Sports Illustrated obtained a copy of Henry’s deal Sunday as the Baltimore Ravens throttled the Denver Broncos. This is what they look like:

Sometimes incentives to win are part of the lure for players signing somewhere in free agency, although I don’t think that was necessarily the case for Henry when he signed with Baltimore. For example, in 2023, only one running back rushed for over 1,200 yards and that was Christian McCaffrey. Only three running backs have surpassed the total threshold of 15 touchdowns. Only four exceeded the threshold of 13 or more touchdowns. Many of those incentives were just beyond Henry’s expectations the year before, when, apparently, most NFL players thought the mammoth running back had finally seen the fuel light come on, indicating the end of his domination.

As of Sunday afternoon, Henry was half a million dollars richer by reaching the 13-touchdown threshold. It is 148 meters from 1,200 meters and 448 meters from 1,500 meters. Henry is just one good game away from 15 touchdowns, and if he continues to play this way, he’s also on track to collect the Super Bowl bonus.

The Ravens built their franchise on winning on the margins, but the fact that the rest of the league allowed Henry to go to Baltimore without much financial hardship is astounding in hindsight. Henry has scored in every Ravens game this season. Every season since 2018 has featured 10 or more touchdowns from Henry. All but one of these seasons featured a full or nearly full season of Henry. Had it been a tough year at quarterback, Henry might have had a legitimate case for the MVP award given how he elevated a Ravens powerhouse program that essentially started over at the offensive line position this spring.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was famous for saying the Dallas Cowboys couldn’t afford him. A quick look at his deal shows that’s incorrect, but given what he paid for Ezekiel Elliott, we can see what kind of change he was willing to pay. sorry, but he is not the only one who has to make this decision. The Cincinnati Bengals had a good running game away from legitimate competition this year. The New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders are both among the NFL’s least efficient teams and could have gotten Henry for about half the price of the high-profile running backs they let leave in free agency (Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley). The Kansas City Chiefs, while doing very well, are conference rivals who will almost certainly have to deal with Henry in the playoffs and are splitting the carries among a group of running backs who could generously be described as the “guys available as last-minute replacements.” for your fantasy team of 4-5 All-Stars. The Tennessee Titans paid a little less for Tony Pollard.

A failure to enter the Henry sweepstakes indicates oversights on one or two fronts by NFL teams. The first, like the Cowboys, is a simple reluctance to spend at a high rate on veteran free agents at seemingly expendable positions. The second is the lack of willingness on the part of professional scouting services to research Henry as a player. As the running back position becomes perilous for players over 30, Henry maintains a rigorous off-season training program, which we have already adhered to. virtually during an offseason. He’s an exception in terms of size and speed, and while we can attempt to be an actuary when it comes to running backs only taking a certain number of hits and a certain volume of carries, Henry is the size of a military-grade humvee. Most of the shots we calculated could very well be accidental contact or a player simply bouncing on his arms like a wrestling heel diving into the ring.

When Henry put the ball in the red zone with the Ravens leading by 14 on Sunday, one of his would-be tacklers went down not because of a stiff arm, but in anticipation of a stiff arm. Earlier in the game, on his first touchdown, he slammed into the back of his 300-pound offensive lineman and managed to reset his feet and get up to speed high enough to drag another Bronco into the zone. goals.

This isn’t surprising given that this is essentially what Henry has looked like throughout his career. What should surprise us is that no one was willing to bet a few million dollars that he could do it again, especially after being removed from Tennessee’s sewer list.