Getty A general view of an official 2024 Super Bowl football.
Reaching the Super Bowl is an honor for any NFL player fortunate enough to do so. But beyond the chance to compete for the Lombardi Trophy, an appearance in the Big Game also brings a big bonus check.
The winners naturally get the more sizeable payout, but even players from the losing side collect close to six figures.
Per the NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified ahead of the 2020 season, the players from the winning team of the 2024 Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will each receive $164,000. Those on the losing side pocket $89,000 each.
While either amount may not affect the bank account of someone like Patrick Mahomes, the highest-paid player in the 2024 Super Bowl, the winning share would equate to roughly 18.9% of Brock Purdy‘s $870,000 regular-season salary. Even the losing amount equates to 10.2%.
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For those who played the 2023 campaign on the league’s $750,000 minimum salary, the winning amount would equate to roughly 21.9% with the losing share at 11.9%. So it can certainly matter to some.
There are rules, however, to which players can collect the entire amount. Those who’ve been on a roster for less than three games before the Super Bowl are only entitled to half, according to the agreement.
Those dropped from a team’s active or inactive list due to injury during the season might also only get half the full amount or even down to a quarter of the amount, depending on the number of games played, years of NFL service and other factors.
However, those on the roster for the Super Bowl don’t have to play a single second of the game to collect whichever portion to which they’re entitled. And these bonuses are on top of the others available in the postseason.
Every Round of the NFL Postseason Includes Bonus Checks
The scene is set.
Players also earn bonuses as their teams advance through the NFL Playoffs. The Super Bowl, however, is the only round in which players from both teams collect a check.
Whether a team is a division winner factors into the amount of the payouts during Super Wild Card Weekend, and while top seeds obviously don’t play in the opening round, they’re still compensated but receive just a little bit less.
Here’s how the round-by-round totals break down for this season:
- Wild Card Round winner (division winner): $50,500
- Wild Card Round winner (non-division winner): $45,500
- Divisional Round winner: $50,500
- Conference Championship winner: $73,000
- Super Bowl winner: $164,000
- Super Bowl loser: $89,000
If the Chiefs win the 2024 Super Bowl, players collecting the full amount of every bonus check will have earned an extra $338,000. If the 49ers win, players collecting the full amount of every bonus check will have made an additional $333,000.
The Super Bowl Bonus Checks Get Bigger Every Year
The amount players earn for a 2024 Super Bowl appearance is $7,000 more than a season ago when the Chiefs took on the Philadelphia Eagles. And that applies to both the winning and losing shares.
And the payouts are only going to grow. In the 2031 Super Bowl, the last title game under the current CBA, players from the winning team will receive bonuses of $228,000, and those on the losing team will receive $153,000.
| Super Bowl Bonuses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Super Bowl | Winning Team | Losing Team |
| 2024 | $164,000 | $89,000 |
| 2025 | $171,000 | $96,000 |
| 2026 | $178,000 | $103,000 |
| 2027 | $188,000 | $113,000 |
| 2028 | $198,000 | $123,000 |
| 2029 | $208,000 | $133,000 |
| 2030 | $218,000 | $143,000 |
| 2031 | $228,000 | $153,000 |
The amounts in the first three postseason rounds will continue to increase as well.