Phins extend Jakeem Grant's contract

Jakeem Grant, one of the NFL’ s best kickoff and punt returners, has a new four-year deal worth up to $24 million with the Miami Dolphins, a league source said.

Grant played 10 games for the Dolphins in 2018 and returned one kick and one punt for a touchdown. At the time of a season-ending injury, Grant led the NFL with 535 kickoff return yards and was fourth with 228 punt return yards.

Grant was a sixth-round draft choice of the Dolphins in 2016. Grant, 5-foot-7, 171 pounds, has continued to develop as a receiver.

The Jakeem Grant contract extension provides the latest example. According to a copy of the contract viewed by the Miami Herald, only $3.7 million of the four-year extension, through 2023, is fully guaranteed.

Unless Grant sustains a serious injury next season, the Dolphins could - if they choose - walk away from his deal before the fifth day of the league year next March without paying him a penny more than the $3 million signing bonus he received when he signed the contract last week, plus his $720,000 salary this season. His $3.8 million base salary in 2020 is guaranteed only in the event of injury. And the 2020 dead money hit for releasing him before next season -which is unlikely - is $2.4 million.

The four-year extension is worth just under $20 million, with another $4.3 million in incentives deemed as “not likely to be earned” - which relate to receptions, yards receiving, team performance and Pro Bowl appearances. If Grant is retained through the end of the deal in 2023, the cap hits are modest ($4.3 million to $5.1 million each season between 2020 and ‘23, slightly higher if those incentives are met).