For teams with players whose incentives and salary escalators — the two main types of performance bonuses — are still up in the air, the final few weeks of the regular season can present an intriguing conundrum. The locker room and management may disagree if a player with financial stakes is rested to keep him fresh for the postseason or to assess unproven players on teams that are out of the playoff picture.
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When there is a difference of opinion in a negotiation between a player’s agent and the team regarding the player’s value, salary escalators and incentives can be used to close the financial gap. Another way for a player to take a pay cut to make up some or all of the money he is losing due to the salary reduction is through incentives.
When a deal is signed, incentives are typically created to be categorized as not likely to be earned (NLTBE). This prevents them from counting against the salary cap. In general, rewards with thresholds greater than the player’s or team’s statistical accomplishments from the previous season qualify as NLTBE. The most common categories for individual accomplishment are those based on playtime or the player’s primary task.
Escalators are not preferred over incentives. It’s not a given that a player will earn the higher pay when they activate an escalator. Teams can still ask the player to accept a pay cut or release him without incurring the financial obligation. NFL contracts contain far too many performance bonuses to list them all.
Here are 20 notable players’ performance bonuses for 2022
Matt Prater, a kicker for the Cardinals, will receive $250,000 if he makes field goals on 83% or more of his attempts (minimum 20). As of now, he has made 18 of his 20 attempts (90%) of them.
DE Arizona With 9.5 sacks, J.J. Watt has already received an escalator bonus of $900,000 ($500,000 for seven sacks, $700,000 for eight sacks, and $900,000 for nine sacks). If he achieves 10 sacks, he can increase that to $1 million.
Injured Calais Campbell has already reached a $500,000 incentive. A total of eight sacks will earn him $1 million. Buffalo DT Tim Settle has one sack this season. He will earn $250,000 for three sacks, $600,000 for five, and $800,000 for seven.
Cairo Santos of the Bears can increase his 2023 base salary by $375,000. If he hits 87.5% of his field-goal attempts, or $750,000 if he hits 90%. He’s currently 20-of-22 (90.9%).
Hayden Hurst, a Bengals tight end, is paid $125,000 for 50 catches and $250,000 for 60. He would also be paid $125,000 for 500 receiving yards and $250,000 for 600.
Right before the final roster cutdown, Garoppolo unexpectedly agreed to a significant pay cut. From the $25 million he was scheduled to earn this season, he settled for $7 million with an additional $8.45 million in incentives. His aim was to remain with the 49ers as the backup quarterback for 2020 third-round pick Trey Lance..
This is the rarely seen side of the NFL at the end of the season. There are hundreds of players with a lot on the line as teams compete for division titles, wild-card spots, playoff seeding, and, at the other end of the spectrum, draught position. Undoubtedly, some of it relates to where they will be in a year. Some of it, like the aforementioned story, is focused on making money right away.
