Interesting? Never knew this existed!

[Shane]

http://azcardinals.com/blog/blog.php?author=1

Extra cash for Cards

The NFL has a performance-based "extra fund" where players get money on top of their salary. Every player who plays gets a little something, including stars like Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner. But the pool (which was about $3.5 million per team for 2008) is mostly designed to give extra money to players who end up playing a big role when they have small salaries. Think young players who usually have minimum salaries early in their career.

The Cardinals had two players rank in the top 25 of the NFL for extra money. Starting center Lyle Sendlein actually made the second-most "extra" money in the entire NFL, getting $348,134 in performance-based pay. That's actually almost as much as Sendlein made in salary in 2008 ($370,000). Wide receiver Steve Breaston, who also made $370,000 in 2008 salary, got an extra $268,762 in performance pay, ranking 15th in the league.

Speaking of salaries, the NFL Players Association lists DE Bertrand Berry's new 2009 salary as $1 million, which was the same number Berry played for in 2008 (I haven't heard what Berry's bonus might have been). Tight end Anthony Becht signed for the league veteran minimum of $745,000.

 

[Second Deck]

Same here Shane had never heard of this. I assume that number counts against the cap although very small.

 

[Cards Czar]

I have before. Its called the Preformance Bonus.

 

[gamebird98]

All contracts should be this way....Each player gets a base salary based upon years of service, and "EARN" your millions thereafter. Make it so the owners cant sit on the money, make a minimum salary cap.

 

[WildBB]

All contracts should be this way....Each player gets a base salary based upon years of service, and "EARN" your millions thereafter. Make it so the owners cant sit on the money, make a minimum salary cap.

Performance based salaries would be interesting in that the players would need to "let it all hang out" on the field.

However can you imagine a bunch of TO's and Chad Johnson's out there whinning to the coaching staff and QB's that they're not being targeted enough and are "pulling $$$$ out of my pockets"?! No, I didn't think so. It just wouldn't work. And what if the player gets injured putting it all out there? What then. He's just cut off?

The union would never allow this. For good reason.

 

[joeshmo]

Its been going on for years, in fact a lot of Cards have earned it in the past because most of our team consisted of low paid UDFA's back in the day, and it doesnt count towards the cap at all.

It isnt talked about that often though.

 

[joeshmo]

All contracts should be this way....Each player gets a base salary based upon years of service, and "EARN" your millions thereafter. Make it so the owners cant sit on the money, make a minimum salary cap.

No a chance that would happen for one simple reason. What happens if the player gets injured? There is no protection from injury with that set-up.

 

[DBDvl]

Good for those 2 getting the extra money. They have both played well above there original draft positions and contracts and deserve to be rewarded for rising to the challenge.

Too bad they dont have a way to get money back from contracts that dont perform -

 

[Goldfield]

That is a very cool thing for the lower paid guys...