2016 Performance-Based Pay Distributions Announced

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2016 PERFORMANCE-BASED PAY DISTRIBUTIONS ANNOUNCED

NFL Players will receive $127.84 million in "Performance-Based Pay" for their performance during the 2016 season, the NFL announced today. The Performance-Based Pay program is a collectively-bargained benefit that compensates players based upon their playing time and salary levels.

In addition to the Performance-Based Pay pool​​​, the NFL Players Association has elected to dedicate $32 million in benefits (i.e., $1 million per club) to fund a Veteran Performance-Based Compensation Pool (the "Veteran Pool") for players with more than one Accrued Season. In total, $159.84 million will be disbursed to players under the combined pools.

Atlanta Falcons cornerback BRIAN POOLE earned the highest amount in the Performance-Based Pay program. Oakland Raiders guard GABE JACKSON earned the most in the Veteran Pool. Under the combined pools, Atlanta safety RICARDO ALLEN earned the highest amount of all NFL players. See the tables below for the top 25 bonuses in each category.

Players have been paid over $1.2 billion cumulatively since the inception of the Performance-Based Pay program, which was implemented as part of the NFL's 2002 Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Association, and continues as part of the parties' current agreement.

The Veteran Pool is a component of the Rookie Redistribution Fund, which is a player benefit that was created under the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The NFL Players Association elected to fund the Veteran Pool for the first time this past year.

HOW PERFORMANCE-BASED PAY WORKS:

Under the Performance-Based Pay program, a fund is created and used as a supplemental form of player compensation based on a comparison of playing time to salary. Players become eligible to receive a bonus distribution in any regular season in which they play at least one official down.

Performance-Based Pay is computed by using a player index ("Index"). To produce the Index, a player's regular-season playtime (total plays on offense, defense and special teams) is divided by his adjusted regular-season compensation (full season salary, prorated portion of signing bonus, earned incentives). Each player's Index is then compared to those of the other players on his team to determine the amount of his Performance-Based Pay.

The Veteran Pool is computed in a similar manner, with two significant modifications: 1) Players with zero Accrued Seasons are not eligible to receive distributions, however, such players remain eligible to receive distributions under the Performance-Based Pay program; and 2) to calculate the eligible player's Index, if the player's full season base salary is less than $1 million, an additional amount will be imputed so that the player's base salary equals $1 million. This imputation of salary is solely for the purpose of calculating distributions from the pool, and does not affect the actual salary paid to the player.

ILLUSTRATION OF PERFORMANCE-BASED PAY SYSTEM

​Each player on the same team com­petes for his own share of his club's Performance-Based Pay pool. The hypothetical example in the table below illustrates how the Player Index works, using a simplified four-player team and a club bonus pool of $1,000,000. Each player receives his share of the pool depending on how his index compares to those of his teammates​

A Playtime B Compensation C Index (A/B) D % of Club Bonus Pool (C/Team Total C) E Hypothetical Bonus (D * $1,000,000) Player A 50% $ 500,000 10.0 50% of the Club’s pool (10 out of 20) 50% * $1,000,000 = $500,000 Player B 50% $ 1,000,000 5.0 25% of the Club’s pool (5 out of 20) 25% * $1,000,000 = $250,000 Player C 20% $ 500,000 4.0 20% of the Club’s pool (4 out of 20) 20% * $1,000,000 = $200,000 Player D 10% $ 1,000,000 1.0 5% of the Club’s pool (1 out of 20) 5% * $1,000,000 = $50,000 Team Total: 20.0 Points ​





































TOP 25 PERFORMANCE-BASED PAY DISTRIBUTIONS FOR 2016

PLAYER CLUB POSITION COLLEGE ENTRY YEAR DRAFT ROUND DISTRIBUTION 1 Brian Poole Atlanta CB Florida 2016 UDFA $ 371,783.11 2 Dak Prescott Dallas QB Mississippi State 2016 4 $ 353,544.57 3 Anthony Brown Dallas CB Purdue 2016 6 $ 346,198.12 4 Ricardo Allen Atlanta SS Purdue 2014 5 $ 342,712.65 5 David Andrews New England C Georgia 2015 UDFA $ 341,353.27 6 Jalen Mills Philadelphia CB Louisiana State 2016 7 $ 324,112.11 7 Trenton Brown San Francisco T Florida 2015 7 $ 323,714.54 8 Zach Orr Baltimore LB North Texas 2014 UDFA $ 317,986.94 9 Alejandro Villanueva Pittsburgh T Army 2014 UDFA $ 317,676.41 10 Andrew Adams New York Giants S Connecticut 2016 UDFA $ 316,310.42 11 Greg Mancz Houston C Toledo 2015 UDFA $ 314,808.54 12 Russell Bodine Cincinnati C North Carolina 2014 4 $ 314,040.72 13 Quinton Spain Tennessee G West Virginia 2015 UDFA $ 307,518.91 14 LaDarius Gunter Green Bay CB Miami 2015 UDFA $ 306,388.79 15 Matt Paradis Denver C Boise State 2014 6 $ 306,002.71 16 Joe Thuney New England G North Carolina State 2016 3 $ 305,206.63 17 Mark Glowinski Seattle G West Virginia 2015 4 $ 303,282.60 18 Jordan Hicks Philadelphia LB Texas 2015 3 $ 300,142.56 19 Telvin Smith Jacksonville LB Florida State 2014 5 $ 293,471.03 20 Andrew Norwell Carolina G Ohio State 2014 UDFA $ 291,975.48 21 Kwon Alexander Tampa Bay LB Louisiana State 2015 4 $ 291,500.78 22 Tajae Sharpe Tennessee WR Massachusetts 2016 5 $ 289,676.53 23 Malcolm Butler New England CB West Alabama 2014 UDFA $ 287,598.82 24 Bobby Hart New York Giants G Florida State 2015 7 $ 285,288.92 25 Kevin Byard Tennessee S Middle Tennessee 2016 3 $ 284,778.17

UDFA – Undrafted free agent

​TOP 25 BONUSES IN VETERAN PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION

PLAYER CLUB POSITION COLLEGE ENTRY YEAR DRAFT ROUND DISTRIBUTION 1 Gabe Jackson Oakland G Mississippi State 2014 3 $ 91,475.02 2 Zach Orr Baltimore LB North Texas 2014 UDFA $ 88,953.05 3 Ricardo Allen Atlanta S Purdue 2014 5 $ 87,007.27 4 Telvin Smith Jacksonville LB Florida State 2014 5 $ 85,686.64 5 Russell Bodine Cincinnati C North Carolina 2014 4 $ 85,122.27 6 David Andrews New England C Georgia 2015 UDFA $ 84,990.99 7 Christian Kirksey Cleveland LB Iowa 2014 3 $ 84,154.17 8 Alejandro Villanueva Pittsburgh T Army 2014 UDFA $ 83,976.05 9 Matt Paradis Denver C Boise State 2014 6 $ 83,805.46 10 Nevin Lawson Detroit CB Utah State 2014 4 $ 82,733.59 11 Jordan Hicks Philadelphia LB Texas 2015 3 $ 81,813.54 12 Ross Cockrell Pittsburgh CB Duke 2014 4 $ 81,720.88 13 Malcolm Butler New England CB West Alabama 2014 UDFA $ 81,283.90 14 Mark Glowinski Seattle G West Virginia 2015 4 $ 80,458.15 15 Avery Williamson Tennessee LB Kentucky 2014 5 $ 79,530.11 16 Greg Mancz Houston C Toledo 2015 UDFA $ 78,126.46 17 Max Garcia Denver G Florida 2015 4 $ 77,242.30 18 LaDarius Gunter Green Bay CB Miami 2015 UDFA $ 77,072.97 19 A.J. Cann Jacksonville G South Carolina 2015 3 $ 76,986.67 20 Kwon Alexander Tampa Bay LB Louisiana State 2015 4 $ 76,811.45 21 Andrew Norwell Carolina G Ohio State 2014 UDFA $ 76,325.88 22 Bobby Hart New York Giants G Florida State 2015 7 $ 75,784.04 23 Charles Leno Chicago T Boise State 2014 7 $ 75,571.75 24 Shaquille Mason New England G Georgia Tech 2015 4 $ 74,876.72 25 Quinton Spain Tennessee G West Virginia 2015 UDFA $ 74,429.55

UDFA – Undrafted free agent

TOP 25 COMBINED TOTAL (PERFORMANCE-BASED PAY AND VETERAN PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION)

PLAYER CLUB POS COLLEGE ENTRY YEAR DRAFT ROUND REGULAR PBP VETERAN PBP COMBINED DISTRIBUTION 1 Ricardo Allen Atlanta S Purdue 2014 5 $ 342,712.65 $ 87,007.27 $ 429,719.92 2 David Andrews New England C Georgia 2015 UDFA $ 341,353.27 $ 84,990.99 $ 426,344.26 3 Zach Orr Baltimore LB North Texas 2014 UDFA $ 317,986.94 $ 88,953.05 $ 406,939.99 4 Alejandro Villanueva Pittsburgh T Army 2014 UDFA $ 317,676.41 $ 83,976.05 $ 401,652.46 5 Russell Bodine Cincinnati C North Carolina 2014 4 $ 314,040.72 $ 85,122.27 $ 399,162.99 6 Trenton Brown San Francisco T Florida 2015 7 $ 323,714.54 $ 73,123.24 $ 396,837.78 7 Greg Mancz Houston C Toledo 2015 UDFA $ 314,808.54 $ 78,126.46 $ 392,935.00 8 Matt Paradis Denver C Boise State 2014 6 $ 306,002.71 $ 83,805.46 $ 389,808.17 9 Mark Glowinski Seattle G West Virginia 2015 4 $ 303,282.60 $ 80,458.15 $ 383,740.75 10 LaDarius Gunter Green Bay CB Miami 2015 UDFA $ 306,388.79 $ 77,072.97 $ 383,461.76 11 Quinton Spain Tennessee G West Virginia 2015 UDFA $ 300,142.56 $ 81,813.54 $ 381,956.10 12 Jordan Hicks Philadelphia LB Texas 2015 3 $ 307,518.91 $ 74,429.55 $ 381,948.46 13 Telvin Smith Jacksonville LB Florida State 2014 5 $ 293,471.03 $ 85,686.64 $ 379,157.67 14 Brian Poole Atlanta CB Florida 2016 UDFA $ 371,783.11 $ - $ 371,783.11 15 Malcolm Butler New England CB West Alabama 2014 UDFA $ 287,598.82 $ 81,283.90 $ 368,882.72 16 Kwon Alexander Tampa Bay LB Louisiana State 2015 4 $ 291,500.78 $ 76,811.45 $ 368,312.23 17 Andrew Norwell Carolina G Ohio State 2014 UDFA $ 291,975.48 $ 76,325.88 $ 368,301.36 18 Gabe Jackson Oakland G Mississippi State 2014 3 $ 273,174.55 $ 91,475.02 $ 364,649.57 19 Bobby Hart NY Giants G Florida State 2015 7 $ 285,288.92 $ 75,784.04 $ 361,072.96 20 Avery Williamson Tennessee LB Kentucky 2014 5 $ 279,923.35 $ 79,530.11 $ 359,453.46 21 Dak Prescott Dallas QB Mississippi State 2016 4 $ 353,544.57 $ - $ 353,544.57 22 Ross Cockrell Pittsburgh CB Duke 2014 4 $ 270,899.82 $ 81,720.88 $ 352,620.70 23 Shaquille Mason New England G Georgia Tech 2015 4 $ 277,474.07 $ 74,876.72 $ 352,350.79 24 Anthony Brown Dallas CB Purdue 2016 6 $ 346,198.12 $ - $ 346,198.12 25 Nevin Lawson Detroit CB Utah State 2014 4 $ 261,672.97 $ 82,733.59 $ 344,406.56

UDFA – Undrafted free agent

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