Getty Aaron Jones #33 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the Oakland Raiders in the game at Lambeau Field on October 20, 2019 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Aaron Jones and the Green Bay Packers are expected to sit down soon to start discussing a possible contract extension, but he will get a little something extra from the NFL first.
According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Jones will take home an additional $374,312 for his standout efforts during the 2019 season after being named the top earner among 10 Packers players who earned performance-based-pay bonuses. The hefty bonus is more than double the amount he earned in base salary ($645,000) last year during his third NFL season.
Chandon Sullivan finished shortly behind Jones with a bonus check for $366,974 as the Packers’ second-highest performance earner, while a trio of receivers flanked him on the list: Marquez Valdes-Scantling ($327,833), Allen Lazard ($307,201) and Jake Kumerow ($304, 230).
Notable bonuses from the performance-based pay pools for Packers’ players ⬇️
Inside linebacker Blake Martinez ($255,283) was the only Packers player who has received a performance-based payout from the league in the past, earning slightly less ($136,439) during the 2018 season. The soon-to-be free agent started every game for the Packers and finished with 155 tackles, good for second-most in the NFL.
The Packers’ list of bonuses also included Jones’ backfield partner, Jamaal Williams ($250,379), as well as defensive lineman Tyler Lancaster, rookie offensive guard Elgton Jenkins ($200,904) and outside linebacker Tim Williams ($1,198) — who was signed midseason off the waivers from the Baltimore Ravens and played just two special teams snaps for the Packers last season.
Here are the Top 25 earnings in performance based pay — a pool that will increased dramatically if a new CBA is passed. #Chiefs CB Charvarius Ward leads the way.
The performance-based-pay program is designed to provide supplemental income to players based on a comparison of playing time to salary, generally helping benefit young players who produce standout numbers while playing under small-money contracts. The bonuses are considered player benefits and do not impact a team’s salary cap.
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Some Packers’ Bonuses Earned More Than Others
It is no shocker to see Jones rewarded after the 25-year-old running back collected a career-high 1,558 yards from scrimmage and scored a franchise-record 23 touchdowns in the regular season and postseason combined. Moving forward, he figures to be one of the most dynamic weapons in the Packers’ offense alongside Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams.
Other names, though, might be a little more surprising to see. For instance, Valdes-Scantling was a frustrating piece of the Packers’ receiving corps in 2019 after he seemed destined for a No. 2 role opposite Adams. He caught 23 passes for 415 yards in the first seven games of the season, but he made just three more before the year as he fell off the depth chart.
And yet, Valdes-Scantling earned more than someone like Lazard, who produced more receptions and yardage while also earning a lower overall salary. Lazard did originally begin the season on the practice squad while Valdes-Scantling made the active roster out of training camp, but it still seems a bit strange to see a $20,000 difference in their bonuses.
New CBA Could Hurt Future Performance Bonuses
In less than 48 hours, votes are due from the roughly 1,700 members of the NFL Players Association to decide on whether to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement, a subject that has created much dissent among players in the past month. Should it pass, the fund for performance-based bonuses will take a sizable hit.
One of the major points in the proposed CBA is expanding the regular season from 16 to 17 games as soon as the 2021 season, but how the league intends to pay for those additional game checks comes at the expense of young stars, as salary-cap specialist Ken Ingalls noted. The language in the CBA outlines how the league would take $48 million from the performance-based pool.
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