The NFL's final week of the regular season gave us some cool moments—Detroit soundly defeated Minnesota to earn the NFC's top overall seed, the Denver Broncos destroyed the Kansas City Chiefs backups to secure the final AFC Wild Card spot, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers eked out a victory at home to win the NFC South and make the playoffs.
This week was also an opportunity for players to earn extra cash by hitting certain milestones defined in their contracts. Here's a look at the best contract incentives that hit in Week 18—and a few that came tantalizingly close.
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mike Evans needed to surpass 1,000 receiving yards to secure a $3 million bonus. He managed to pull it off on the last play of the game after the Bucs had already clinched the victory. And the celebration was fantastic. Evans also tied Jerry Rice with 11 consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 yards receiving, which is an NFL best.
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The man passing the ball to Evans had himself a great field day, too. Baker Mayfield needed to end the season in the top ten in the NFL or top five in the NFC in passer rating, touchdown passes, passing yards, completion percentage, and yards per attempt, with each milestone netting him $500,000. He finished in the top ten in all five categories. Mayfield also scored another $500,000 since the Buccaneers made the postseason, helping him equal Evans's $3 million bump in pay in Week 18.
Mike Evans (L) and Baker Mayfield have plenty to celebrate. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks entered the final game of the season already eliminated from the playoffs, but quarterback Geno Smith wasn't ready for the season to be over. He had three escalators in his contract worth $2 million apiece. Smith needed to lead Seattle to a win over the Los Angeles Rams, needed to surpass 4,282 yards on the season, and needed to finish with a 69.7555% completion rate. Smith's final numbers were 4,320 yards and a 70.4% completion rate, and the Seahawks edged the Rams 30-25. That's a cool $6 million for him.
Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens easily won their game against the hapless Cleveland Browns, and Derrick Henry scored two touchdowns en route to 138 yards. The running back only needed one to secure a $500,000 bonus. He's made $2 million in incentives on the season—for hitting 1,200 and 1,500 rushing yards and 13 and 15 rushing touchdowns. If the Ravens win the Super Bowl, Henry can net another $500,000.
Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos
The Broncos were playing the Chiefs' backups since Kansas City had already locked in the No. 1 seed in the AFC. That meant Courtland Sutton had plenty of opportunities for a big receiving day. The Denver wide receiver needed 83 yards to surpass 1,000 on the season and snag a $500,000 bonus. Sutton finished with 98 yards—equalling the Chiefs' passing yardage output for the entire game—and scored a touchdown.
Von Miller, Buffalo Bills
Von Miller won a Super Bowl with the Broncos and the Rams, and he joined the Buffalo Bills in 2022, hoping to do the same. The Bills will start their quest against Miller's former team, the Broncos, and the linebacker will come into the game $1.5 million richer. He recorded a sack against Drake Maye on the third play of the game and then rested for the remainder of the contest. A few minutes of work for $1.5 million…where do we sign up?
Mack Hollins, Buffalo Bills
Miller's teammate, Mack Hollins, played a bit longer during the Bills' game, catching three passes for 25 yards. He needed two to reach 30 receptions on the season, which also helped him score a $50,o00 bonus. Had he gotten 72 receiving yards in the game, he could have made another $200,000.
Sam Martin, Buffalo Bills
Not to harp too much on the Bills, but it's rare for a punter to get some love! Martin had 24 punts inside the 20-yard line coming into the game; he needed one more to reach his bonus. In the third quarter, Buffalo opted to punt from the Patriots' 35-yard line. Martin's punt was heading for the end zone when Bills cornerback Ja'Marcus Ingram dove and tapped the ball back into play, where it came to rest at the 6-yard line. Martin reached 25 punts inside the 20 and made $100,000 in the process. After the game, Ingram said Martin offered to take him out to dinner—a very kind gesture!
J.K. Dobbins, Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers already had a playoff spot secured and were locked into the No. 5 seed, yet they still trotted out running back J.K. Dobbins, who needed 58 rushing yards to earn a $150,000 bonus. Dobbins barely made it, rushing 18 times for 63 yards. But hey, he still made that extra money, and that's the important thing.
Calais Campbell, Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins had to beat the New York Jets and needed the Broncos to lose to make the playoffs. Neither one of those things happened, but defensive tackle Calais Campbell picked up his fifth sack of the season when he brought down Aaron Rodgers. Doing so earned the 38-year-old Campbell a $300,000 bonus.
Three players who came tantalizingly close to incentives
Teams that are already eliminated from the playoffs don't have much to play for aside from incentives. The Tennessee Titans finished with the worst record in the league, so they'll get the No. 1 pick in April's draft. Their running back, Tony Pollard, could have scored an extra $250,000 apiece if he ran for 83 yards and scored two touchdowns, which would give him 1,100 rushing yards and seven scores on the season. He didn't find the end zone and only finished with 62 yards, a mere 21 short of a quarter-million dollars.
Washington Commanders linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. had 10.5 sacks coming into his team's final game. He needed 0.5 of a sack—not even a full one!—to score the same bonus as Von Miller and earn $1.5 million. Alas, Fowler ended the game with four tackles but no sacks.
Cooper Rush was another player coming extremely close to financial gain. The Cowboys' backup quarterback was sent into action in Week 9 after starter Dak Prescott partially tore his hamstring. Rush went 4-4 in his starts, but the Cowboys opted to sit him for third-string quarterback Trey Lance. Entering the game, Rush had been involved in 52.5% of the team's snaps. If he had gotten to 55%—a very likely scenario had he played in Week 18—he would have made $250,000. Instead, Rush will have to settle for a $250,000 bonus for playing in 45% of the team's snaps.
Missing out on half a million dollars is rough, but at least getting a quarter million takes some of the sting out.
