Are you a fan of waiting until the last minute to do things? Maybe you got assigned a project at work or school that you had weeks, even months, to accomplish, but kept putting it off. Or perhaps you like to plan things well in advance, knocking off a little bit at a time to make the overall goal easier to attain.
NFL players know your struggle. Many players across the league have incentive bonuses written into their contracts for hitting certain milestones during the year, like snaps played, scores, or sacks. And a handful waited until the last week of the regular season to achieve those milestones, netting additional cash in the process.
We already covered how Baker Mayfield just needed to win one of his final two games to make an extra $1 million. It was an ugly 9-0 victory over the last-place Carolina Panthers in the final game of the season, but it was enough for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the NFC South. Mayfield now has the potential to earn even more, depending on how the Bucs fare in the playoffs.
Here are some other players that scored big paydays in Week 18.
Jadeveon Clowney of the Baltimore Ravens knew what was on the line in Week 18. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
The Indianapolis Colts signed Gardner Minshew to be a backup quarterback. But when their rookie QB Anthony Richardson couldn't stay on the field due to various injuries, Minshew stepped in as the starter. He made $3.5 million between his base salary and signing bonus, and by finishing 2023 with at least 65% of snaps played, he got another $2 million.
Would he trade it for a playoff appearance, something the Colts could have achieved if they had beaten the Houston Texans in Week 18? Probably, but a 57% raise is nothing to sneeze at.
The Cincinnati Bengals had a season to forget. After reaching the Super Bowl two years ago and the AFC Championship this year, they offered Joe Burrow an enormous contract extension. Burrow got hurt during the offseason and then again in the middle of the season, and the Bengals never recovered. Though they finished at 9-8, they watched every other AFC North team make the playoffs.
The Bengals faced the Cleveland Browns in Week 18 with nothing on the line for either team. But another Cincinnati Joe, Joe Mixon, still had reason to play. He needed two touchdowns to score an extra $100,000. He got his second one in the first quarter of the Bengals 31-14 win, giving a nice highlight to an otherwise disappointing season.
DeAndre Hopkins needed 7 catches, 39 yards, and two touchdowns to earn $750,000. He got the seven catches, finished with 46 receiving yards, and…only scored once. Luckily, each of those benchmarks had their own incentive clauses at $250,000 each. Getting the catches and yardage put Hopkins at 75 catches and more than 1,050 yards for the season, giving him $500,000 to cap off the season.
On top of that, his Tennessee Titans upset the Jacksonville Jaguars, keeping their division rivals out of the playoffs and allowing the Texans to get in as AFC South champions. Maybe it's Tennessee's way of apologizing to Houston for taking the Oilers in 1997?
Yet the most entertaining incentives came on the defensive side of the ball. Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, who had held out during training camp amid contract negotiations, was at 9.5 sacks entering Week 18. He needed 10 for his incentive bonus, and when he sacked Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Easton Stick in the third quarter, he made $1.25 million.
Meanwhile, Baltimore Ravens edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney had already earned a $1 million bonus for reaching 7 sacks, but getting half a sack in Week 18 would push him to 9 for the season, netting him another $750,000. The Ravens had already locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC, so they rested a lot of their key players.
Clowney wasn't one of them. Shortly before halftime, he got that sack, earning a cool three-quarters of a million dollars in the process. His salary for the season was $2.5 million, and he made a total of $1.75 million in bonuses.
Just look at how ecstatic Clowney, Jones, and their teammates are. Now that's how you celebrate accomplishing something big.
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