More photos » Ted S. Warren - AP Browse more photos » As part of the 2002 Collective Bargaining Agreement the League agreed to form a system where by players making the salary minimum can earn a bonus based on their playing time. Each team puts a set amount into this fund which is then doled out to the players based on performance. The total amount available this year was $96 million.
The system runs off what is called a "player index". Basically they look at each player, take the total number of plays during the season (offense, defense, special teams), The player index is generated by taking the total number of plays and divided by the total compensation (salary, bonuses, prorated signing bonuses, earned incentives etc.). This generates an index number which is then compared to other players on the team. After the jump is an example using a 4 player team as a comparison.
Playtime
Salary
Index
Player A
50%
$ 500,000
10.0
50% of the Club's pool (10 out of 20)
Player B
50%
$ 1,000,000
5.0
25% of the Club's pool (5 out of 20)
Player C
20%
$ 500,000
4.0
20% of the Club's pool (4 out of 20)
Player D
10%
$ 1,000,000
1.0
5% of the Club's pool (1 out of 20)
Team Total:
20.0 Points
Here are the top performers for this year:
John Sullivan, C, Minnesota $397,555Zack Bowman, CB, Chicago $355,355Gary Guyton, LB, New England $349,437William Gay, CB, Pittsburgh $325,607Josh Morgan, WR, San Francisco $325,421Carl Nicks, G, New Orleans $317,313Donald Thomas G, Miami $316,577Macho Harris, S, Philadelphia $314,565Orlando Scandrick, CB, Dallas $306,209David Hwathorne, LB, Seattle $306,091Dashon Goldson, S, San Francisco $303,763Josh Sitton, G, Green Bay $300,622
Our own Josh Morgan makes the list with a nice check worth $325,607 which is almost as much as he made in his regular salary this year which was $385,000.
It's a nice way for the league to recognize players who have overperformed expectations and it's one of the things that won't be funded in an uncapped year.
