Baltimore Ravens guard John Simpson earned the highest amount among all NFL players for the 2023 League Year Performance-Based Pay program.
His $974,613 distribution will nearly double his 2023 salary.
49ers Pro Bowl quarterback Brock Purdy, who made $875,000 in 2023, nearly doubled his salary when he earned $739,795 in performance-based pay.
Here’s 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 upon 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. In general, players with higher playtime percentages and lower salaries benefit most from the pool.
Performance-Based Pay is computed by using a player index (“Index”). To calculate the Index, a player’s “PBP Playtime” (defined as the player’s regular season total plays played on offense, defense and special teams, divided by the number of plays in which the player with the most total combined plays participated on that team) is divided by his “PBP Compensation” (defined as each player’s regular season full salary, including his prorated portion of signing bonus, and earned incentives). Each player’s Index is then compared to those of all other players on his team to determine the amount of his Performance-Based Pay. If a player’s full season salary is less than the CBA Minimum Salary for a player with seven or more Credited Seasons, additional salary will be imputed to that player so that his salary is equal to the Minimum Salary for a player with seven or more Credited Seasons (i.e., $1.165M for the 2023 season). By imputing a minimum salary of $1.165 million, a slightly higher percentage of the pool is directed to high-performing veteran players whose salaries exceed $1.165 million, but are not among the highest in the League, as contemplated by the formula. 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 under his contract.
Top 25 Performance-Based Pay distributions for 2023:
PLAYER |
2023 CLUB |
POS. |
COLLEGE |
ROOKIEYEAR |
DRAFTROUND |
DISTRIBUTION(ROUNDED) |
|
1 |
John Simpson |
Baltimore |
G |
Clemson |
2020 |
4 |
$ 974,613 |
2 |
Reed Blankenship |
Philadelphia |
S |
Middle Tennessee State |
2022 |
UDFA |
$ 923,059 |
3 |
Spencer Brown |
Buffalo |
T |
Northern Iowa |
2021 |
3 |
$ 912,723 |
4 |
Cordell Volson |
Cincinnati |
G |
North Dakota State |
2022 |
4 |
$ 905,972 |
5 |
Kader Kohou |
Miami |
CB |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
2022 |
UDFA |
$ 878,167 |
6 |
Luke Fortner |
Jacksonville |
C |
Kentucky |
2022 |
3 |
$ 872,196 |
7 |
Trey Smith |
Kansas City |
G |
Tennessee |
2021 |
6 |
$ 865,484 |
8 |
O’Cyrus Torrence |
Buffalo |
G |
Florida |
2023 |
2 |
$ 847,180 |
9 |
Jamaree Salyer |
L.A. Chargers |
G |
Georgia |
2022 |
6 |
$ 840,282 |
10 |
Tariq Woolen |
Seattle |
CB |
Texas-San Antonio |
2022 |
5 |
$ 839,154 |
11 |
Jason Pinnock |
N.Y. Giants |
S |
Pittsburgh |
2021 |
5 |
$ 817,224 |
12 |
Will Fries |
Indianapolis |
G |
Penn State |
2021 |
7 |
$ 810,961 |
13 |
Brandon Stephens |
Baltimore |
S |
Southern Methodist |
2021 |
3 |
$ 805,253 |
14 |
Deommodore Lenoir |
San Francisco |
CB |
Oregon |
2021 |
5 |
$ 790,744 |
15 |
Camryn Bynum |
Minnesota |
S |
California |
2021 |
4 |
$ 785,489 |
16 |
Tony Adams |
N.Y. Jets |
S |
Illinois |
2022 |
UDFA |
$ 777,965 |
17 |
Terrel Bernard |
Buffalo |
LB |
Baylor |
2022 |
3 |
$ 777,092 |
18 |
Rodney Thomas |
Indianapolis |
S |
Yale |
2022 |
7 |
$ 769,445 |
19 |
Ben Bredeson |
N.Y. Giants |
G |
Michigan |
2020 |
4 |
$ 764,130 |
20 |
DaRon Bland |
Dallas |
CB |
Fresno State |
2022 |
5 |
$ 759,756 |
21 |
Nate Landman |
Atlanta |
LB |
Colorado |
2022 |
UDFA |
$ 753,273 |
22 |
Quinn Meinerz |
Denver |
G |
Wisconsin-Whitewater |
2021 |
3 |
$ 747,505 |
23 |
Dan Moore |
Pittsburgh |
T |
Texas A&M |
2021 |
4 |
$ 740,319 |
24 |
Brock Purdy |
San Francisco |
QB |
Iowa State |
2022 |
7 |
$ 739,795 |
25 |
Jonathon Cooper |
Denver |
LB |
Ohio State |
2021 |
7 |
$ 738,916 |