Packers standout and other players earn significant more money, but a key NFL rule means the team won’t feel the impact
It’s an important tool for NFL players.
NFL players make money in different ways. In addition to their contracts with teams, the league distributes money throughout rosters for players based upon their playing time and salary levels. This week, the 2025 NFL Performance-Based Pay distribution was released, and Green Bay Packers players will make almost $17 million in addition to their regular salaries.
Evan Williams leads the Packers and is amongst the top 25 players in the entire NFL, getting an extra $1.003 million.
How it works
The good news for the Packers is that this amount of money doesn’t hit the cap. It’s not the team paying players, it’s a collectively bargained benefit that compensates all players to different degrees.
Under the Performance-Based Pay program, a fund is created and used as a supplemental form of player compensation based upon a comparison of playing time to salary. Players become eligible to receive a bonus distribution in any regular season in which they play at least one official down. In general, players with higher playtime percentages and lower salaries benefit most from the pool.
Because of that, the Packers players who made the most money with the program are safety Evan Williams, cornerback Carrington Valentine, and defensive tackle Karl Brooks, all players selected on Day 3 of their respective draft classes.
It’s the first time ever where the top 25 players exceeded $1 million in extra earnings. This program was created back in 2002.
For these players, it’s a real bump. Last year, Evan Williams made $968,820 combining base salary and workout bonus, while Valentine made $915,000 as a former seventh-round pick.
The CBA is complex and offers low guarantees for late-round draft picks. But the Performance-Based Pay is an excellent tool to reward players who were on the field a lot, and the best for the team is that it doesn’t count toward their salary cap, keeping the flexibility to make more roster moves.
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