The Washington Commanders clinched a spot in the 2024 NFL Playoffs with a 30-24 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons on "Sunday Night Football," which was the latest big achievement in a season that has been full of them. For veteran tight end Zach Ertz, this win ended up proving to be much sweeter for him.
Ertz has enjoyed a bounce-back season in his first year with the Commanders, as he's hauled in 61 passes for 610 yards and six touchdowns, emerging as a safety blanket in the air for rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Against Atlanta, he caught six passes for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with the second one being the game-winner.
As if that wasn't good enough, Ertz pocketed an additional $750,000 in this game from Washington. How is that so? That's because Ertz managed to hit three separate incentives in his contract throughout this contest, which Washington will gladly pay considering how big of a role he played in this win.
"Zach Ertz’s game-winning touchdown catch that clinched a wild-card spot for the Commanders also was his sixth TD catch of the season, triggering a $250,000 bonus," Adam Schefter of ESPN shared in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Ertz made $250K for that catch, another $250K for going over 600 receiving yards this season, and another $250K for catching 60+ passes this season — all of which he accomplished Sunday night."
Even with all that, Ertz's night still managed to get better. He passed legendary tight end Ozzie Newsome to move into ninth-place on the all-time receiving yards list for tight ends, and it was his mother's birthday. All in all, this was a pretty great day for the Commanders, but it was even better for Ertz.
With this win in the books, Ertz and the Commanders will look to finish their regular season campaign off with a win before heading into the postseason. They will cap things off in Week 18 when they take on the Dallas Cowboys in a divisional clash, with kickoff set for Sunday, Jan. 5 at 1 p.m. EST.
