New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler was severely underpaid in 2015 with a $510,000 salary, but he earned some extra money based on his performance.
Butler, who started all 16 games, earned $319,282.65 in performance-based bonus pay.
Each team receives $3,802,500 to pay out, and it doesn’t count against the salary cap. The money is divvied up using a player index. The NFL explained how they produce the player index: “a player’s regular-season playtime (total plays on offense, defense and special teams) is divided by his adjusted regular-season compensation (full season salary, prorated portion of signing bonus, earned incentives). Each player’s index is then compared to those of the other players on his team to determine the amount of his pay.”
Here are the rest of the Patriots’ top performance-based bonus earners, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
CB Malcolm Butler: $319,282.65
OL David Andrews: $237,427.11
OL Shaq Mason: $199,348.87
TE Michael Williams: $190,123.63
OL Tre’ Jackson: $156,952.56
FS Duron Harmon: $145,262.76
OL Josh Kline: $144,718.78
OL Bryan Stork: $111,519.49
LB Jamie Collins: $110,984.02
WR Keshawn Martin: $106,553.66
Quarterback Tom Brady earned just $10,663.87 , since his salary was $8 million.
Thumbnail photo via Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
