Mitchell restructures contract with Tiger-Cats
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Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell has restructured his contract with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, TSN football insiders Dave Naylor and Farhan Lalji confirmed Thursday.
Naylor notes that an announcement is expected on Friday and Mitchell's new contract will include some protection for the Tiger-Cats on risk of injury.
Lalji adds that Mitchell’s deal is worth $225K in hard money (which includes a $50K signing bonus), plus $72K in playtime and up to $15K in performance incentives.
The 33-year-old Katy, Texas, native recently completed his seventh Canadian Football League season and first with the Tiger-Cats after his rights were acquired by the club in a deal with the Calgary Stampeders.
Mitchell had two different stints on the six-game injured list with the Ticats in 2023, limiting him to six regular-season games. Mitchell threw for 1,031 yards, six touchdowns and 10 interceptions in those outings.
The Ticats' pocket was mostly manned by rookie Taylor Powell as primary backup Matthew Shiltz also dealt with injuries.
Mitchell returned for the Ticats in time for the postseason but did not start against the eventual Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes in the East Semifinal. Mitchell attempted four passes, completing one for six yards with an interception.
Following the loss to the Als, Mitchell pondered his future with the Black and Gold, saying, "I'll sit down with [Tiger-Cats head coach Orlondo Steinauer] sit down with Scott [Milanovich], sit down with the top guys, and have some conversations with them."
"Obviously, it's fresh right now. If you're not playing your highest-paid player on this team in a playoff game, I don't foresee myself being here. I love this team, I love this organization, I hope I can be here in some capacity because I would love to be a part of it again but that is obviously for other people to decide."
The Tiger-Cats have since made changes to their front office, as Orlondo Steinauer stepped back from his head coaching role to focus on his role as president of football operations. Milanovich was introduced as the 27th head coach in Ticats' history on Dec. 6.
"I do know that Bo still has the arm strength," Milanovich said.
"He still has the accuracy, he still has the competitive fire, the leadership, he still loves the game."