Stop me if you've heard this one before: the New England Patriots are headed to the Super Bowl.
Following a come-from-behind win against the underdog Jacksonville Jaguars, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are headed for their eighth Super Bowl. Though they're surely enjoying this run, Patriots fans seem well aware that the team's dynasty could come to an end in the near future.
Brady is 40 years old and there's speculation Belichick may retire in the next few years. Perhaps fans' biggest concern about the future: what will happen at the quarterback position when Brady retires?
The team seemed to have his heir apparent in place with Jimmy Guapo—excuse me, Jimmy Garoppolo—but a contract stalemate led to the Pats dealing Garoppolo to the 49ers at the trade deadline.
New England seemingly did not want to part ways with Garoppolo, but the franchise was not ready to move on from Brady, so the Patriots dealt him for a second-round pick. That deal now looks very, shall we say, questionable, as Garoppolo lit it up down the stretch with San Francisco. He won five games in a row at the helm of the lowly 49ers, and the 26-year-old looks poised to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league for the foreseeable future.
Given how his season wrapped up, Jimmy G. is probably feeling pretty good right now. Adding to his joy: he's still getting paid by the Patriots. His playoff bonuses continue to increase as New England continues winning.
Sunday's win over Jacksonville? That gave Garoppolo $79,000. He could earn a total of $191,000 in bonuses if New England wins the Super Bowl, and he won't earn less than $135,000, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
For New England’s playoff wins and trip to Super Bowl LII, $79,000 in bonuses will be paid to 49ers’ QB Jimmy Garoppolo.
Next up:
Patriots’ Super Bowl win: another $112,000
Patriots’ Super Bowl loss: another $56,000
Minimum takeaway: $135,000.
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Though Philadelphia looked mighty impressive in tearing apart the Vikings Sunday, Vegas seems to think Garoppolo will make the maximum. The opening betting line was New England -6.5 and has since shifted to the Patriots -6.
