Charvarius Ward certainly outperformed his rookie contract in 2019, which the NFL rewarded him for his play on the field. Ward led all NFL players in combined distribution from the performance-based pay program in 2019, making $654,750 ($428,335 in performance-based pay and $226,415 in the veteran pool).

Performance-based pay comes from a league-wide fund used as a form of player compensation, which is based from playing time to salary made the season prior. The more playing time a player receives, the higher the salary. Ward made just $570,000 in 2019, so the $654,750 in bonuses he made is a huge reward.

A former undrafted free agent, Ward played 94.8% of the Chiefs defensive snaps in 2019. He finished with 74 tackles, two interceptions, 10 passes defensed and a forced fumble, starting all 16 games.

The NFL released the list of the top 25 players in performance-based pay and the veteran pool for 2019 Thursday.