Joe Mixon contract: Financial details emerge after restructuring

In order to justify keeping longtime starting running back Joe Mixon around, the Bengals had to renegotiate his deal to a more friendly figure for the team. They were set to hand Mixon an eight-figure salary in 2023 that would be similar to his cap hit the last couple of seasons.

Until you have to pay guys like Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins, it’s not so bad. But with those superstars set to get massive extensions, Cincy had to restructure the Mixon contract to clear up extra cap space and they did just that.

NFL insider Tom Pelissero first reported news of talks between Cincinnati and Mixon on Friday night, writing:

“The Bengals and RB Joe Mixon are finalizing a restructured contract that will keep him in Cincinnati for the 2023 season, per sources. Mixon was due $10.1 million this season with a $12.791M cap number. The new deal frees up cash and cap for Cincinnati, and Mixon stays as RB1.”

On Saturday morning, another NFL reporter, Ian Rapoport, came through with some more details on the new deal Cincinnati negotiated with Mixon. He tweeted out the following notes on the contract

• Joe Mixon took a $4.39M pay cut this year and a $4.67M pay cut next year.
• The 2023 base is $5.51M and he can make an extra $2M per year in incentives.
• This opens up the possibility of him sticking around next year, too.

So, Mixon will remain in Cincinnati and head into year seven with the Bengals as one of the longest-tenured running backs with a single team in the entire NFL.

Though Mixon is surely disappointed that he has to take home a smaller paycheck than he previously agreed to, it’s worth it to stay and Cincinnati while still having the type of financial compensation the common man would dream of. It’s no hard feelings between him and the front office, especially owner Mike Brown, who Mixon says has always been good to him.

“He’s the owner, and he makes the decisions. He embraced me since day one and I love Mike and I know Mike loves me too, so it’s a great thing to have,” Mixon commented on their relationship back when rumors of a trade or restructure first started. “I feel like our front office, everybody is great to me, everybody has backed me 100 percent, and it’s a great feeling. Just the love and support that I get from them continuously. Very appreciative. Words really don’t explain the true feeling of what that means to me.”

The Bengals consistently said publicly throughout the offseason that they value Mixon as part of the organization and absolutely want to keep him around. They’re doing just that while also getting him at a little bit of a cheaper number.