Performance bonuses have fallen. Since 2002, the system has made it possible to provide a bonus to players according to their contribution. The league takes the number of snaps played by each player and divides it by their total salary for the year. The result is then compared to that of the other players on the team to determine if there is an adjustment to be made.
Each team has $1.1 million to distribute following the 2017 season. A 14-time starter with the Titans, Quinton Spain played 85.71% of his team’s offensive snaps and 13.08% of special teams snaps. All this while earning the minimum salary for a player who has been in the league for two years. The NFL therefore awarded him a nice bonus of 385,490 dollars.
Another fund awards bonuses to players who have played at least one season in the NFL. And once more, Spain takes home the biggest check, with $104,291 more.
The 25 players who will benefit from the biggest bonuses
|
PLAYER |
TEAM |
POS |
UNIVERSITÉ |
ROOKIE
YEAR |
DRAFT
ROUND |
DISTRIBUTION |
|
| 1 | Quinton Spain | Tennessee | G | West Virginia | 2015 | UDFA | $ 385,490.95 |
| 2 | Wes Schweitzer | Atlanta | G | San Jose State | 2016 | 6 | $ 376,698.80 |
| 3 | Jalen Mills | Philadelphia | CB | LSU | 2016 | 7 | $ 364,744.97 |
| 4 | Anthony Brown | Dallas | CB | Purdue | 2016 | 6 | $ 345,299.22 |
| 5 | Keelan Cole | Jacksonville | WR | Kentucky Wesleyan | 2017 | UDFA | $ 344,998.87 |
| 6 | Nicholas Morrow | Oakland | LB | Greenville | 2017 | UDFA | $ 337,312.82 |
| 7 | Eddie Jackson | Chicago | S | Alabama | 2017 | 4 | $ 334,782.65 |
| 8 | John Wetzel | Arizona | T | Boston College | 2013 | UDFA | $ 333,603.68 |
| 9 | Kevin Byard | Tennessee | S | Middle Tennessee | 2016 | 3 | $ 333,066.93 |
| 10 | Mike Hilton | Pittsburgh | CB | Mississippi | 2016 | UDFA | $ 327,377.67 |
| 11 | Daryl Williams | Carolina | T | Oklahoma | 2015 | 4 | $ 321,834.89 |
| 12 | Jayon Brown | Tennessee | LB | UCLA | 2017 | 5 | $ 321,425.69 |
| 13 | Trevor Williams | LA Chargers | CB | Penn State | 2016 | UDFA | $ 316,820.42 |
| 14 | Shaq Mason | New England | G | Georgia Tech | 2015 | 4 | $ 314,837.80 |
| 15 | Ricardo Allen | Atlanta | S | Purdue | 2014 | 5 | $ 313,711.25 |
| 16 | Dak Prescott | Dallas | QB | Mississippi State | 2016 | 4 | $ 313,406.43 |
| 17 | Trey Hopkins | Cincinnati | G | Texas | 2014 | UDFA | $ 310,435.00 |
| 18 | Jesse Davis | Miami | G/T | Idaho | 2015 | UDFA | $ 308,989.36 |
| 19 | Spencer Pulley | LA Chargers | C | Vanderbilt | 2016 | UDFA | $ 304,021.36 |
| 20 | Tyler Larsen | Carolina | C | Utah State | 2014 | UDFA | $ 299,594.37 |
| 21 | Joe Thuney | New England | G | North Carolina State | 2016 | 3 | $ 296,620.57 |
| 22 | Ken Crawley | New Orleans | CB | Colorado | 2016 | UDFA | $ 295,826.77 |
| 23 | Jesse James | Pittsburgh | THE | Penn State | 2015 | 5 | $ 293,971.07 |
| 24 | Halapoulivaati Vaitai | Philadelphia | T | TCU | 2016 | 5 | $ 293,132.51 |
| 25 | Blake Martinez | Green Bay | LB | Stanford | 2016 | 4 | $ 291,170.83 |
UDFA – Undrafted free agent
“Veteran” bonuses
|
PLAYER |
CLUB |
POS |
COLLEGE |
ROOKIE
YEAR |
DRAFT
ROUND |
DISTRIBUTION |
|
| 1 | Quinton Spain | Tennessee | G | West Virginia | 2015 | UDFA | $ 104,291.40 |
| 2 | Kevin Byard | Tennessee | S | Middle Tennessee | 2016 | 3 | $ 100,588.09 |
| 3 | Blake Martinez | Green Bay | LB | Stanford | 2016 | 4 | $ 93,219.71 |
| 4 | Jalen Mills | Philadelphia | CB | LSU | 2016 | 7 | $ 92,695.20 |
| 5 | Anthony Brown | Dallas | CB | Purdue | 2016 | 6 | $ 92,391.27 |
| 6 | Dontae Johnson | San Francisco | CB | North Carolina State | 2014 | 4 | $ 91,021.05 |
| 7 | Graham Glasgow | Detroit | G | Michigan | 2016 | 3 | $ 89,630.21 |
| 8 | Wes Schweitzer | Atlanta | G | San Jose State | 2016 | 6 | $ 89,366.46 |
| 9 | Matthias Farley | Indianapolis | S | Our Lady | 2016 | UDFA | $ 88,669.91 |
| 10 | A.J. Cann | Jacksonville | G | South Carolina | 2015 | 3 | $ 87,905.02 |
| 11 | Dak Prescott | Dallas | QB | Mississippi State | 2016 | 4 | $ 87,599.82 |
| 12 | Joe Schobert | Cleveland | LB | Wisconsin | 2016 | 4 | $ 87,456.29 |
| 13 | Trevor Williams | LA Chargers | CB | Penn State | 2016 | UDFA | $ 87,290.83 |
| 14 | Kenny Wiggins | LA Chargers | G | Fresno State | 2011 | UDFA | $ 87,217.41 |
| 15 | Jesse James | Pittsburgh | THE | Penn State | 2015 | 5 | $ 84,822.88 |
| 16 | Shaq Mason | New England | G | Georgia Tech | 2015 | 4 | $ 84,801.75 |
| 17 | Matt Paradis | Denver | C | Boise State | 2014 | 6 | $ 84,709.48 |
| 18 | Spencer Pulley | LA Chargers | C | Vanderbilt | 2016 | UDFA | $ 83,810.99 |
| 19 | Jacoby Brissett | Indianapolis | QB | North Carolina State | 2016 | 3 | $ 83,750.43 |
| 20 | Daryl Williams | Carolina | T | Oklahoma | 2015 | 4 | $ 83,592.18 |
| 21 | Brett Jones | NY Giants | C | Regina / Canada | 2015 | UDFA | $ 83,482.96 |
| 22 | Joe Haeg | Indianapolis | G/T | North Dakota State | 2016 | 5 | $ 82,977.72 |
| 23 | Ricardo Allen | Atlanta | S | Purdue | 2014 | 5 | $ 82,423.85 |
| 24 | Patrick Robinson | Philadelphia | CB | Florida State | 2010 | 1 | $ 82,299.68 |
| 25 | Jamon Brown | LA Rams | G | Louisville | 2015 | 3 | $ 81,340.80 |
UDFA – Undrafted free agent
