Bailey Zappe Patriots Contract: How much did QB earn in New England?

Quarterback Bailey Zappe became a free agent after the New England Patriots excluded him from their 53-man active roster for the 2023 NFL season. That decision came a year after the team selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

The former Houston Baptist and Western Kentucky standout did have his bright moments in the two games he replaced Mac Jones as the Patriots’ starter. He led the squad to victories in Week 5 against the Detroit Lions and Week 6 versus the Cleveland Browns. Now, he waits for any NFL team to secure his services.

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Bailey Zappe Career Earnings

After getting drafted by the New England Patriots, Bailey Zappe signed a four-year, $4.3 million rookie scale contract. However, he only earned $1,352,072 million, given that he played only one season for the Patriots.

That value included a $705,000 base salary and a $647,072 signing bonus. The team can distribute the signing bonus cap hit throughout Zappe’s contract length. However, after the team released him, his contract fell under dead money.

If the Patriots retained him, he could have earned an $870,000 base salary for 2023. That value will jump to $985,000 in 2024 and $1,100,000 in 2025.

Here’s Zappe’s previous contract’s breakdown, courtesy of Over The Cap.

Year	Base Salary	Signing Bonus	Cap Hit
2022	$705,000	$647,072	$866,768
2023	$870,000	-	$1,031,768
2024	$985,000	-	$1,146,768
2025	$1,100,000	-	$1,261,768
Total	$3,660,000	$647,072	$4,307,072

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Bailey Zappe Net Worth

There are conflicting reports regarding Zappe’s Net Worth. Some articles tie his value to the contract he signed. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be accurate anymore, given that the team didn’t retain him. Instead, they will find another backup quarterback for Mac Jones.

Since he earned $705,000 last year, his net worth could be $1.5 million at most if he has made some investments.

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Why was Bailey Zappe cut?

Zappe didn’t perform to expectations during the offseason, a stark contrast from his impressive starts last year. The Texas native struggled during training camp and went for safe throws during scrimmages. He completed only eight passes out of 15 attempts for 57 yards in their final preseason game versus the Tennessee Titans.

It’s an unfortunate setback for Bailey Zappe’s NFL career. He does have the talent because he was the 2021 NCAA Conference USA Most Valuable Player. Zappe also established the most passing yards (5,967) and passing touchdowns (62) in a Football Bowl Subdivision season.

Now, he and rookie quarterback Malik Cunningham will wait for another squad to open a window for them. It’s also possible that Zappe will join an NFL practice squad, giving him at least one foot in the door.