We spend much of the year talking about the salary cap and player salaries that impact it. However, there is one area of player payroll that does not impact the salary cap. That is the performance-based pool. In the most recent collective bargaining agreement, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to an additional benefit based on playing time. It is not part of the salary cap, but rather, is treated like a player benefit, which is subtracted from the pool of money used to determine the salary cap.
Anybody that plays at least one snap has a chance to earn money, and this year, Kenneth Acker led the way for the San Francisco 49ers. His playing time earned him $273,631 due to his playing time. Acker made $435,000 this year, so that extra money is a big shot in the arm for him. Matt Maiocco got a look at the full list, and one of the major media sites will post the full info at some point in the coming days.
You can scroll down below the list below to read about the methodology for determining the pay. It is based on playing time divided by total compensation based on a specific formula. It's meant to provide a boost to players a little further down the payroll that are able to do more than expected. The league made adjustments to the salary cap so that players cannot re-negotiate contracts during their first three years in the league. This is not quite the same as a huge new deal, but it gives them a little something extra to recognize a player who puts in a lot of playing time.
My favorite performance bonus has to go to Matt Cassel. He played one snap with the Buffalo Bills, and that netted him $58.73.
CB Kenneth Acker (62.44%) $273,631.80
LB Aaron Lynch (53.98%) $197,241.98
OL Andrew Tiller (44.94%) $179,846.39
OL Marcus Martin (56.57%) $163,959.43
DL Quinton Dial (47.54%) $154,303.53
LB Michael Wilhoite (44.63%) $138,401.04
CB Dontae Johnson (41.16%)$137,959.79
WR Quinton Patton (44.46%) $133,360.40
DB Jaquiski Tartt (56.44%) $127,314.41
OL Jordan Devey (29.53%) $119,598.94
LB Eli Harold (32.01%) $108,516.75
LB Shayne Skov (21.84%) $102,270.85
DL Mike Purcell (20.64%) $96,654.82
TE Garrett Celek (33.24%) $95,880.16
LB Gerald Hodges (27.08%) $95,642.75
DL Tony Jerod-Eddie (26.89%) $93,971.56
TE Blake Bell (24.30%) $89,419.66
TE Vance McDonald (39.50%) $83,141.95
RB Kendall Gaskins (17.00%) $79,590.69
DB Jimmie Ward (60.61%) $77,157.33
DB Eric Reid (79.86%) $71,162.98
OL Trent Brown (13.28%) $61,119.15
CB Marcus Cromartie (15.09%) $60,380.53
WR Bruce Ellington (18.38%) $59,834.17
P Bradley Pinion (13.56%) $57,924.87
DL Ian Williams (46.78%) $55,755.36
RB Shaun Draughn (17.41%) $54,502.55
CB Tramaine Brock (72.92%) $49,715.29
LB Corey Lemonier (17.68%) $49,567.88
RB Carlos Hyde (19.96%)
$48,923.65
FB Bruce Miller
(40.19%) $48,657.16
OL Erik Pears (72.61% ) $44,776.26
LB Nick Bellore (24.56%) $43,362.51
QB Blaine Gabbert (35.03%) $40,205.50
DL Arik Armstead (30.30%) $34,981.90
DB L.J. McCray (8.46%) $33,722.87
RB Mike Davis
(8.53%) $31,927.83
CB Keith Reaser (7.39%) $31,629.56
WR Torrey Smith (53.06%) $30,450.34
OL Alex Boone (54.44%)
$30,208.12
RB Jarryd Hayne (6.06%) $28,046.02
LS Kyle Nelson (9.64%) $24,386.55
LB Ray-Ray Armstrong (6.50%) $22,963.18
DL Cornellius Carradine (14.08%) $21,553.88
DL Glenn Dorsey (25.06%) $20,990.89
OL Daniel Kilgore (18.72%) $20,904.38
OL Joe Staley (70.41%) $19,138.25
WR DeAndrew White (3.99%) $18,856.28
LB NaVorro Bowman (70.20%) $17,245.96
WR Anquan Boldin (51.96%) $15,679.01
WR Jerome Simpson (5.85%) $15,201.69
RB Travaris Cadet (4.82%) $15,079.76
LB Ahmad Brooks (47.66%) $13,957.27
DB Antoine Bethea (29.92%) $13,661.88
RB DuJuan Harris (4.20%) $13,140.93
CB Chris Davis (2.02%) $8,183.34
TE Brian Leonhardt (1.72%) $6,969.64
TE Vernon Davis (22.23%) $6,785.59
QB Colin Kaepernick (34.27%) $4,920.24
RB Reggie Bush (3.65%) $3,285.26
K Phil Dawson (3.79%) $1,891.61
OL Ian Silberman (0.34%) $1,527.45
RB Pierre Thomas (0.41%) $1,458.26
METHODOLOGY
a) Each player's "Playtime Percentage" shall be calculated by (i) adding the player's total plays on offense or defense, as appropriate, plus special teams and (ii) dividing that number by the team's total plays on offense or defense, as appropriate, plus special teams;
(b) Each player'S "PBP Compensation" shall be calculated by adding his full regular season Paragraph 5 Salary, prorated signing bonus for the current League Year (plus any signing bonus acceleration (without regard to the June 1 rule) due to his having been released during the applicable League Year, unless the player is re-signed by his old Club without having missed a week of the regular season), earned incentives, and other compensation for the current League Year, subject to the following provisions:
(i) For all players other than those who receive the Minimum Salary Benefit, the full regular season Paragraph 5 Salary shall be used;
(ii) For players who were released and later resigned by the same Club during the regular season, the Paragraph 5 Salary from the player's initial contract shall be used for the period ending with the player's release, and the Paragraph 5 Salary from the player's subsequent contract shall be used for the period from release through the term of the subsequent contract;
(iii) For players who receive the Minimum Salary Benefit, the Paragraph 5 Minimum Salary amount for a player with two Credited Seasons, rather than the stated Paragraph 5 Salary, shall be used to calculate the player'S PBP Compensation;
(iv) If a Player Contract is renegotiated after the Monday of the tenth week of the regular season to include an unearned incentive for the current League Year that is treated as signing bonus, such incentive shall not be counted in the calculation of the PBP Compensation; and
(v) If a portion of the player's Paragraph 5 Salary is treated as signing bonus, the full Paragraph 5 Salary (rather than the current year's proration) will be counted; all other amounts treated as signing bonus will be included on a prorated basis except for unearned incentives, as described in Subsection (iv) above.
(c) Each player's "PBP Index" shall be calculated by dividing the player's Playtime Percentage by his PBP Compensation;
(d) Each player shall receive an allocation from the fund determined by (i) dividing his PBP Index by the sum of the PBP Indices for each player on the Club and then (ii) multiplying that percentage by the Club's total PBP allocation.
(e) For PBP purposes, a play is counted towards playtime percentage if the play runs to completion, regardless if the play was nullified by a penalty (e.g., a play that is blown dead by a penalty, due to a false start or encroachment penalties, etc. do not count in this calculation). A play is defined by the personnel on the field. A fake punt or field goal is considered a Special Teams play, and a 2-point conversion attempt is considered an offensive/defensive play.