Guaranteed money
An NFL term
The part of an NFL contract a player keeps even if he is cut. It is the only number in a contract announcement that reliably means anything, because the headline total often includes years nobody expects to be played.
There are two flavours. Fully guaranteed money is owed no matter what. Injury-only guarantees are owed if he is hurt, but not if he is simply cut for performance.
This is why "three years, sixty million" can mean far less than it sounds. The years at the back are frequently voidable or non-guaranteed.
NFL contracts are unusual among major American leagues in not being fully guaranteed by default, which is why the guarantee is what agents actually fight over.
You’ll hear it like this
The headline said four years, but only the first two carried guarantees.
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Checked 2026-08-07.