Forever ago…on May 15, 2023…the Houston Texans and veteran guard Shaq Mason agreed to a three year contract extension through the 2026 season to man the right guard position.
Finally the details are available.
Contract base value is 3 years $35.0 million, up to $36.0 million through incentives. Mason received $22.0 million fully guaranteed at signing including a $10.0 million signing bonus.
Mason’s base salaries in 2023 and 2024 are fully guaranteed, and has a small $1.05 million guarantee in 2025. Mason can earn, up to, $500,000 per year through per game roster bonuses. Earning $29,412 per game Mason is active for game-day. The contract reportedly offers $1.0 million, over the life of the contract, through performance incentives, details on that are not available as of yet. My suspicion is $250,000 yearly Pro Bowl nominations.
The first “out” for Houston would be the 2025 league year, leaving a $6.05 million dead money charge on a player release.
Compared against the players at the position (right guard and left guard) Mason’s contract slots in at 11th highest paid, based on Average Per Year (APY).
The interesting part in this extension is Houston executing the contract without seeing Mason play a snap in a game. The team had only seen Mason in offseason workouts and organized team activities (OTA’s).
Fair to note Caserio has seen plenty of Mason from their time together in New England.
Based on the value of the contract against the market, I believe this to be fair contract between both sides. The guarantee ($22.0 million) slots in at 9th highest at the position. The signing bonus and cash flow is inline with the contract value against the market.
Mason should be a welcome addition to the revamped offensive line slotting in between Tytus Howard (RT) and Juice Scruggs (C).
-TC