Baltimore Ravens guard John Simpsonearned 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:
On Sunday night in Houston, two of the hottest teams in the NBA squared off as the Dallas Mavericks battled the Rockets.
Houston came in riding an 11-game winning streak, while the Mavs had won six in a row.
However, this game was about the play of Luka Doncic.
The five-time All-Star put on another special performance and started the game on fire. In the first quarter, he scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out four assists. He was the first player to have such a stat line in a quarter since the 1996-97 season.
Doncic finished the night with 47 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. Dallas led by as many as 29 points and defeated the Rockets 125-107.
The Mavericks (45-29) have now won seven straight and 11 of their last 12; they’re tied with the Pelicans for the fifth seed in the Western Conference and are two games behind the Clippers (47-29) for the fourth spot.
Back to Doncic, he also finished the night with a career-high tying nine threes as Dallas made a season-high 24 threes.
Mavs coach Jason Kidd said Doncic set the tone for the team and showed why he’s one of the best in the NBA.
“As our leader, he came out and set the tone for us offensively, but I thought, not just Luka, but the group was ready,” Kidd said. “He came out and showed why he’s one of the best players in the world.”
The way Dallas is playing right now, Doncic is an MVP candidate.
He is averaging a league-high (career-high) 34.0 points, 9.1 rebounds (15th in the NBA), a career-high 9.8 assists (second in the NBA), and a career-high 1.5 steals (seventh in the NBA).
Recently, Doncic said this was his best season in the NBA, and after their win over the Rockets, he explained why.
“I think a lot of things,” he said. “I think the most important is maturity. I’ve been in the league for five years now. Just understanding the game, learning the game, and maturity.”
The Mavs, who are 4-0 on their current five-game road trip, finish off the trip in San Francisco against the Warriors on Tuesday night.
Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played March 25 through March 31, the NBA announced on Monday.
This is the first Player of the Week honor of Murray’s career.
Murray led the Hawks to a 3-1 record this past week, which included two wins over the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics.
The Washington product averaged 28.3 points, 10.3 assists, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals, becoming the only player in the league this past week to tally at least 20.0 points, 10.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds.
The Hawks (35-40), who have won five of their last six, will host the Detroit Pistons.
For the first two rounds on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Tim Tszyu (24-1, 15 KOs) appeared on his way to successfully defending his WBO 154-pound title against Sebastian Fundora (21-1. 12 KOs)..
He bloodied Fundora’s nose and was having a lot of success. However, at the end of Round 2, Tszyu was hit in the head by an accidental elbow from Fundora and was covered in blood. Unfortunately, Tszyu’s corner had a hard time stopping the bleeding. From there, Fundora used his reach and jab to defeat the Australian by a split decision to capture Tszyu’s WBO strap and the vacant WBC 154-pound title.
One judge scored the fight 116-112 for Tszyu but was overruled by scores of 116-112 and 115-113 for Fundora.
After Keith Thurman withdrew from the fight with Tszyu due to injury, Fundora, who was already on the card, was elevated to the main event and took advantage of this opportunity.
Photos: Photos from Esther Lin/ Premier Boxing Champions
“We’ve been praying for this moment for a long time, and I’m just happy that Tim Tszyu gave me the opportunity and the opportunity became my dream come true,” Fundora said.”
In hindsight, Tszyu’s corner should have stopped the fight before the fourth round and declared it a no-contest, but that’s not who Tsyzus is, which he discussed after the bout.
“I’m a throwback fighter, and whatever circumstances come up, I’ll keep going,” Tszyu said. “But all credit belongs to the man who won tonight. These things happen. My momentum was rolling in the first two rounds, and then boom, you’re blinded completely. This is boxing; it’s part of the sport.”
According to CompuBox stats, Fundora out-jabbed Tszyu 93-39 and threw 721 punches to Tszyu’s 400. Tszyu held a 44% connect rate and a 136 to 101 edge in power punches.
Fundora became the second world champion in his family, following his sister Gabriela, the current IBF Flyweight World Champion.
After the fight, former unified world champion Errol Spence Jr. entered the ring to express his interest in a matchup with Fundora, which the newly crowned champion quickly welcomed.
“Errol is one of the pound for pound greats,” said Fundora. “So fighting him and getting a win would be history for me.”
“It’s time to get it on,” said Spence. “He’s got the big dog now. It’s my first time seeing him in person. He’s got good height, but we’ll break him down.”
If Tszyu doesn’t get cut, he probably wins the fight, but this is boxing, and anything can happen in boxing. Terence Crawford is Fundora’s mandatory for the WBO belt, so he’ll probably drop that and fight Spence next, but we’ll see.
Cruz silences Romero
Photos from Esther Lin/ Premier Boxing Champions
Rolly Romero talked a lot before his fight with Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz; however, Cruz let his fists do all the talking and then some.
In the co-main event, Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) beat up and beatdown Romero(15-2, 13 KOs) and stopped him in the eighth round to capture Romero’s WBA 140-pound title.
Cruz, who was fighting at 140 pounds for the first time in his career, had Romero in trouble in the first round after he connected with a left hook to the top of the head that wobbled Romero, but he was able to survive.
As the fight continued, the Mexican champion continued to get the best of Romero; Cruz had Romero hurt in the seventh; in round eight, he put it away with an onslaught of power punches, and referee Thomas Taylor waived off the fight 59 seconds into the round.
“I’m very happy and humbled to win this title for my family and for Mexico,” Cruz said after the win. “I was prepared for this. I wasn’t here to just fight. I was here to terminate him…I did my talking right here in the ring. And I did this not just for me but for everybody that is here at T-Mobile Arena. There’s going to be a Mexican champ at 140 pounds for a long time.”
Romero had a new trainer in Ismael Salas, but none of that mattered. Despite the setback, Romero is confident he’ll be successful going forward.
“We gave the fans a great fight,” he said. “Unfortunately, we came up short. I want to thank ‘Pitbull’ Cruz and all the fans that came out and made this a great event. I’ll be back.”
We’ll see what Cruz does next. A rematch with Gervonta Davis would make sense, but Cruz may have some mandatory fights he needs to take care of before that could happen. For Romero, it’s back to the drawing board. He needs to improve; he has only had 17 fights, so maybe there’s time to make that happen.
If, at first, you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again, and that’s the attitude that Mavs guard Dante Exum had on Friday night in Sacramento against the Kings.
With just over two minutes left in the fourth and the game tied at 103, Exum had multiple opportunities to give the Mavs the lead. He missed a wide-open three from the wing. With under two minutes to go, Exum got another chance and missed another wide-open three, this time from the corner. Exum and the Mavs again had an opportunity to take the lead, but he missed a driving layup.
Exum got his final wide-open look and drained a three with 28.6 seconds to go. The Mavs defeated swept the Kings in Sacramento and won 107-103.
Dallas (44-29), who has now won six straight and 10 out of their last 11 games, defeated the Kings 132-85 on Tuesday night.
Exum knows that playing with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving means he will get open looks, which he must make.
“They’re going to be doubling them(Doncic and Irving),” Exum said. “We’re going to be open and will have to make the plays, and I think that’s what we realized, and that’s what we gotta do.”
The Mavs were led by their stars, Irving, who scored 14 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth, and Doncic, who had 26 points, nine rebounds, and 12 assists. These two combined for 56 of the team’s 107 points.
Doncic believes that he and Irving trust their teammates.
“We know that they are going to double me and Kai a lot of times,” he said. “So, that’s the trust we have, the whole team. That shows that our team is great.”
Last February, Doncic and Irving made their debut together in Sacramento. In 61 games played, the duo is 35-26. According to Doncic, both players are happy to play with each other.
“I think we’re both happy,” Doncic said. “We’re both doing some good things on the floor, and we have great teammates, so I think this team is special.”
The Mavs are playing fantastic basketball and are peaking at the right time. These two wins over Sacramento (42-31) were big; Dallas, who is the sixth seed in the West, now lead the seventh seed, the Phoenix Suns (43-31), by 1.5 games and have a two-game lead over the eighth-seeded Kings, so things are looking good in Dallas.
The Philadelphia Eagles reportedly allowed LB Haason Reddick to search for his next destination; now, it appears he has finally found it.
According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, the Jets will send a conditional 2026 third-round pick to the Eagles that improves to a 2026 second-rounder if Reddick reaches 67.5% play time and 10 sacks.
The 29-year-old Reddick, who is scheduled to make $14.5 next season in the final year of his contract, was a very productive player for the Eagles. In two seasons with the Eagles, both of which ended with him making the Pro Bowl, he accumulated 27 sacks. However, like the rest of the 2023 Eagles, he struggled down the stretch, recording no sacks in the season’s final five games, including their postseason loss to the Buccaneers.
Last season, the seventh-year veteran had 11 sacks for the Eagles.
Essentially, the Eagles and Jets swapped pass rushers. Philadelphia signed former Jets LB Bryce Huff to a three-year, $51 million contract in March.
At this point, it appears Reddick is an upgrade for the Jets, who, like the Eagles, are trying to win now. However, the 25-year-old Huff, who had a career-high 10 sacks in 2023, is younger, but again, Reddick is probably better.
Clearly, the Eagles were unwilling to give Reddick a new deal, and it became pretty apparent that they would not give him a new deal after the Eagles and Reddick pushed back the date for his $1 million roster bonus to April 1. Philadelphia was reportedly looking to trade defensive end Josh Sweat, but they ended up reworking his contract; however, they did not do the same with Reddick.
The Eagles may know something we don’t, but it’s hard to argue with Reddick’s production even with a bad thumb. Reddick was Philadelphia’s best player on defense in 2023. Also, he and Browns DE Myles Garrett are the only two players with at least 11-plus sacks in the last four seasons.
This move is interesting for the Eagles because their championship window is wide open.
It’s hard to name many edge rushers who were better than Reddick over the past few seasons, but again, maybe the Eagles know something we don’t.
The NFL season is months away, but the preparation offseason begins now with free agency, the draft, and offseason workouts.
On Friday, the league announced the date for each team’s voluntary offseason workout programs, which are intended to provide training, teaching, and physical conditioning for players.
New head coaches are entitled to conduct an additional voluntary veteran minicamp. Any voluntary minicamp for veteran players must be conducted before the NFL Draft.
This year, eight clubs will hold voluntary veteran minicamps.
The dates of each club’s post-draft rookie minicamps will be announced at a later date.
Here is each team’s offseason workout schedule:
ARIZONA
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-22, May 28-30, June 3-6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
ATLANTA
First Day: April 2
Voluntary Minicamp: April 22-24
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 13-14, May 16, May 20-21, May 23, June 3-4, June 6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 10-12
BALTIMORE
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20, May 22-23, May 28, May 30-31, June 3-4, June 6-7
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
BUFFALO
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-30, June 3-4, June 6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
CAROLINA
First Day: April 8
Voluntary Minicamp: April 23-25
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31, June 3-4, June 6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
CHICAGO
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31
Mandatory Minicamp: June 4-6
CINCINNATI
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 28-30, June 3-6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
CLEVELAND
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 21-23, May 28-30, June 3-6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
DALLAS
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 21-23, May 29-31
Mandatory Minicamp: June 4-6
DENVER
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 21-23, May 28-30, June 3-6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
DETROIT
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 21-23, May 29-31, June 10-12
Mandatory Minicamp: June 4-6
GREEN BAY
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31, June 3-4, June 6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
HOUSTON
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 29-31, June 3-4, June 6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
INDIANAPOLIS
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 21-23, May 29-31
Mandatory Minicamp: June 4-6
JACKSONVILLE
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31, June 3-6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 10-12
KANSAS CITY
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-22, May 28-30, June 4-7
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
LAS VEGAS
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31, June 3-6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
L.A. CHARGERS
First Day: April 2
Voluntary Minicamp: April 22-24
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 29-31, June 4-7
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
L.A. RAMS
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31, June 3-6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 10-12
MIAMI
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31
Mandatory Minicamp: June 4-6
MINNESOTA
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31, June 10-13
Mandatory Minicamp: June 4-6
NEW ENGLAND
First Day: April 8
Voluntary Minicamp: April 23-24
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 29-31, June 3-4, June 6-7
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
NEW ORLEANS
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 21-23, May 28-30, June 3-6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
N.Y. GIANTS
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31, June 3-4, June 6-7
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
N.Y. JETS First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31, June 3-4, June 6-7
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
PHILADELPHIA
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20, May 22-23, May 28, May 30-31
Mandatory Minicamp: June 4-6
PITTSBURGH
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 21-23, May 28-30, June 3-6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
SAN FRANCISCO
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31
Mandatory Minicamp: June 4-6
SEATTLE
First Day: April 8
Voluntary Minicamp: April 22-24
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20, May 22-23, May 28, May 30-31, June 3-4, June 6-7
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
TAMPA BAY
First Day: April 15
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 21-23, May 28-30, June 4-6
Mandatory Minicamp: June 11-13
TENNESSEE
First Day: April 8
Voluntary Minicamp: April 22-24
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31, June 10-13
Mandatory Minicamp: June 4-6
WASHINGTON
First Day: April 2
Voluntary Minicamp: April 22-24
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 14-15, May 17, May 21-22, May 24, June 4-5, June 7
The Detroit Pistons have signed forward/center Chimezie Metu to a contract, the team announced on Saturday.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the contract is for the rest of the season and a team option for 2024-2025.
Metu, 27, signed a 10-day contract with Detroit on March 20. In six games (two starts), he’s averaged 7.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.3 steals in 26.0 minutes.
A five-year NBA veteran, Metu has appeared in 252 career games (33 starts) for San Antonio, Sacramento, Phoenix and Detroit.
The 49th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Metu has a career average of 5.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and 0.4 blocks in 13.1 minutes per game. He appeared in 37 games (five starts) for the Phoenix Suns earlier this season and averaged 5.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 12.1 minutes.
On Friday night, the Pistons (13-61) snapped an eight-game losing streak after defeating the Wizards in D.C. The Pistons get back at it on Sunday night when they host the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Cavs have signed Marcus Morris Sr. for the remainder of the season, the team announced on Friday.
Morris, 34, signed a 10-day contract with the team on March 18th and appeared in five games, averaging 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 18.4 minutes while also shooting .438 from the three-point line.
Before joining the Cavaliers, he appeared in 37 games this season with the Philadelphia 76ers before being traded to San Antonio as part of a three-team deal on February 8th. He was later waived on February 29th.
Over his 13-year NBA career, Morris Sr. has played in 825 games (509 starts) with Houston, Phoenix, Detroit, Boston, New York, L.A. Clippers, and Philadelphia, owning career averages of 12.0 points (.435 FG%, .377 3FG%, .775 FT%) and 4.5 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per contest.
Morris is a solid role player and a decent scorer. He’s a solid piece off the bench for Cleveland.
On Friday night, the Cavs (44-29) will host Morris’ former team, the Philadelphia 76ers (39-34).
WBA 140-pound champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero will make the first defense of his title on Saturday night against Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in the co-main event on a card that will be headlined by Tim Tszyu and contender Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora, who meet for Tszyu’s WBO title and the vacant WBC 154-pound world title.
Cruz(25-2-1, 17 KOs) is moving up to 140 pounds to challenge Romero (15-1, 13 KOs). The Mexican contender is best known for giving Gervonta Davis his toughest test when he lost in a close unanimous decision in 2021.
However, despite that, Romero, who was stopped by Davis in 2022, feels Cruz will be an easy fight for him.
“Everybody thinks this is gonna be a difficult fight,” Romero said at the final press conference on Thursday. “But I think this is gonna be an easy fight. He’s gonna run right into something, because he’s stupid.
“He’s gonna throw and throw and throw again. He does the same stuff over and over again. I’m ready for it.”
Cruz disagrees.
“If he thinks I’m stupid, then he’s even stupider,” Cruz said. “If he thinks I’m just gonna lay down, he’s very mistaken. He’s gonna realize it on Saturday night.”
After spending his career with trainer Bullet Cromwell, Romero has a new trainer, the legendary Ismael Salas, and Romero believes that it’s making a difference.
“I feel like I’m back at home training with Ismael Salas,” Romero said. “He’s had a big influence on me throughout my whole career really.”
Romero loves the smack talk and says he’ll have something special for Cruz at the end of the night.
“I’m not giving you the belt, but I can give you the chihuahua chain after the fight,” Romero said.
Cruz says Romero won’t be smiling at the end of the fight.
“I’m here to wipe Rolly’s smile off his face and take his belt,” he said. “That’s it. Isaac Cruz is going to be the new world champion.”
Photo: Esther Lin & Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions
