Quarterback Aaron Rodgers won’t be able to get the incentive bonus included in his 2025 contract for winning the NFL MVP award. But Rodgers could still earn several other incentives from the Pittsburgh Steelers this season.
Rodgers began doing that Sunday night.
The 42-year-old quarterback earned a $500,000 bonus for leading the Steelers to a playoff berth. Pittsburgh clinched the AFC North title with a 26-24 victory against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18.
The playoff berth incentive is the first of five bonuses Rodgers could earn with the Steelers over the next five weeks. The quarterback will receive a bonus in excess of $500,000 for each playoff win the team gets.
The Steelers will host the Houston Texans in the AFC wild card round on Monday, January 12.
Rodgers completed 31 of 47 passes for 294 yards versus the Ravens during Week 18. The veteran signal-caller connected with Calvin Austin III for the game-winning touchdown with 55 seconds remaining in regulation.
Rodgers saved his best for last in Week 18 to earn his first 2025 incentive. He completed 11 of 14 passes for 133 yards with the score to Austin in the fourth quarter against Baltimore.
Aaron Rodgers Leads Steelers to AFC North Crown
The 42-year-old experienced a bit of an inconsistent 2025 season. Given his age, that’s to be expected, and Rodgers was still far more reliable than a lot of others on the Steelers roster.
But as head coach Mike Tomlin explained during his Week 18 postgame press conference, the organization brought in Rodgers for the type of situations the team faced against the Ravens.
Twice, Rodgers led the Steelers on go-ahead touchdown drives while trailing by four points in the fourth quarter during Week 18.
The Ravens still had an opportunity to spoil Rodgers’s bonus money. Baltimore rookie kicker Tyler Loop attempted a game-winning 44-yard field goal in the final seconds of regulation during Week 18.
The attempt sailed wide right.
With the miss, Rodgers secured the ninth division title of his career as a starting quarterback. He’s also arguably playing the best football of the season entering the playoffs.
Rodgers has posted a 5-2 record in his past seven starts. He didn’t throw an interception in any of those games.
Since the start of December, Rodgers has completed 66.5% of his passes while averaging 6.6 yards per attempt. He’s also thrown five touchdowns and rushed for a score with zero turnovers.
Rodgers Playoff Contract Incentives With Steelers
The Steelers signed Rodgers to a 1-year, $13.65 million contract in June. For a 4-time MVP, the contract was quite affordable.
But the deal also included up to $5.85 million in incentives.
One incentive (worth $1.5 million) was winning NFL MVP. That won’t happen for Rodgers. But he’s eligible to earn the other $4.35 million incentives.
Here’s a breakdown of how much Rodgers could earn if the Steelers win the Super Bowl this season according to Spotrac:
Wild Card Win: $600,000
Divisional Round Win: $750,000
Conference Championship Win: $1 million
Super Bowl Win: $1.5 million
Rodgers could earn those amounts on top of the $500,000 for clinching a playoff spot.
While a deep playoff run could prove costly from a financial perspective for the Steelers, the organization will likely gladly pay those incentives if Rodgers has the team playing into February.
The Steelers, particularly the fan base, is hungry for a playoff win. Pittsburgh’s last postseason victory was nine years ago in January 2017.
Since then, the Steelers have suffered six consecutive playoff defeats. They have sustained first-round playoff exits in four straight postseason trips.
Aaron Rodgers Earns Heavy Payday With Win Against Ravens