The Weighted Contract

When the Bengals’ Andre Smith finally signed a contract on Sunday, it was released that a pretty interesting clause was stamped on it. Apparently, Smith’s contract says that his salary will be slashed for each game in which he is 350 pounds or higher and not on the active roster.

Upon learning of this, I decided to do some research regarding other players in the NFL that also have these clauses in place on their contracts. Kris Jenkins of the Jets has a weight clause implemented in his contract after he ballooned to 394 pounds from his previous 360. This was at the request of then coach Eric Mangini.

It was also stated that Kevin and Pat Williams also had weight clauses in their contracts which could have led to them violating NFL substance abuse policy by using water pills.

It is still unclear if weight clauses actually help the players. The clauses help players by keeping the extra weight off, but does it help when they limit their food intake and/or take banned substances? I don’t think so.