BLUE BOMBERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH QUARTERBACK ZACH COLLAROSWINNIPEG, MB., January , 2020 - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers today announce the club has agreed to terms with Grey Cup winning quarterback
Zach Collaros on a
two-year contract extension. Collaros was scheduled to be a free agent next month.
Collaros, 31, started four games last season for Winnipeg, winning all four and leading the team to a Grey Cup title. His first start came October 25 against Calgary, where he went 22 of 28 for 221 yards and two touchdowns while leading the offence on a game-winning drive in the final moments.
Collaros went on to start all three playoff games and finished the 2019 postseason completing 45 of his 69 pass attempts for 630 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Prior to joining Winnipeg, Collaros led the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a 10-4 mark in 2018, a season in which he threw for 2,999 yards and nine touchdowns while also rushing 24 times for 103 yards.
A native of Steubenville, OH, Collaros was first signed by the Argos in 2012 after an outstanding college career at Cincinnati, where he appeared in 41 games for the Bearcats, including 25 starts. He spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons with the Argos - going 5-3 as a starter in 2013 - before signing with the Tiger-Cats as a free agent in 2014.
Hamilton held a record of 16-9 in games in which Collaros started in 2015-16 and he had his best season as a pro in 2015 when he was a Most Outstanding Player candidate before a season-ending knee injury. That year, Collaros threw for 3,376 yards with 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions while appearing in just 12 games. He had 2,938 yards passing and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 18:8 in just 10 games in 2016, and started eight games with the Ticats in 2017, with eight touchdowns and 1,767 yards passing.
Collaros was traded by the Ticats to Saskatchewan in January of 2018 for a second-round draft pick and then re-signed by the Riders in February of this year. Collaros started Saskatchewan?s opener against Hamilton this season, but was injured on the first drive. He was then traded back to the Argos on July 31st for a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2020.
Throughout his CFL career, Collaros has thrown for 16,979 yards and 94 touchdowns. Collaros was originally acquired by Winnipeg in a trade deadline deal with the Toronto Argonauts in 2019.
https://www.bluebombers.com/2020/01/27/blue-bombers-agree-terms-quarterback-zach-collaros/QB Zach Collaros can earn nearly $1 million from new contract with BombersBy Justin Dunk - January 27, 2020
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have signed quarterback
Zach Collaros to a contract extension which
could total nearly $1 million.
General manager Kyle Walters paid Collaros $440,000 in hard money for 2020 and $450,000 in 2021. Each year Collaros can make an additional $50,000 in playtime bonuses. For every game he plays 51 percent or more of the offensive snaps Collaros collects $2,777.77. The signing bonus checks in at $225,000.
Collaros earned $310,000 in hard money last season - $115,000 in base salary and $20,000 in housing combined with a $175,000 signing bonus. He was given a substantial pay raise of more than $130,000 in hard money year over year. Winnipeg decided to focus their efforts on inking Collaros to a new pact over fellow veteran QB Matt Nichols.
Nichols collected $455,000 in 2019 - a $225,000 roster bonus which was paid on January 15, $209,000 base salary and $21,000 combined for housing and travel. However, he sustained what Winnipeg described as a "significant shoulder injury" last August when he was strip-sacked by B.C. Lions defensive lineman Shawn Lemon.
Walters acquired Collaros at the trade deadline and it paid off with the veteran quarterback producing a 4-0 record, including three wins in the playoffs en route to hoisting Earl Grey's mug. Collaros was the starter who propelled Winnipeg to the run through the end of the season, playoffs and ultimately a Grey Cup championship. Bombers? head coach Mike O'Shea saw Collaros as 'the guy' during the victories which led to a CFL title.
Winnipeg sent their third-round choice in the 2020 CFL draft to the Toronto Argos for Collaros and a fifth-round selection during the October deadline. Now that the Bombers re-signed Collaros, Toronto receives an additional first-round pick, ninth overall in the 2020 CFL draft.
Collaros has amassed a 35-31 win-loss record while completing 65 percent of his passes for 16,979 yards and 94 touchdowns against 52 interceptions in 92 games over eight seasons. During three post-season games with the Bombers, Collaros totalled 630 passing yards, two touchdowns, one interception while completing 65 percent of his attempts.
The Bombers have heavily invested in Collaros as the starter at the game's most important position for the next two seasons.
https://3downnation.com/2020/01/27/qb-zach-collaros-can-earn-nearly-1-million-from-new-contract-with-bombers/
