Bills stars can cash in and unlock significant contract details that could swing the team’s salary cap in a hurry
Much more than just a victory hangs in the balance for multiple Bills stars.
The Buffalo Bills are making their final preparations for the upcoming Week 16 showdown against the Cleveland Browns. While the talk of the town is the playoff implications that are on the line for Buffalo, there’s another storyline brewing behind the scenes for two specific players.
Both tight end Dawson Knox and wide receiver Khalil Shakir can come out of Sunday with much more than just a win, and it’ll impact their pocketbooks in a big way. Do people still say pocketbooks?
Dawson Knox and Khalil Shakir could see a huge payday in Week 16
As reported by Underdog, Shakir is one touchdown away from $150,000. For Knox, he could wind up tripling that amount. He’s two catches away from $100,000, 47 yards away from $100,000, and one touchdown away from another $100,000.
Another name to watch out for is defensive end Joey Bosa. With five sacks on the season, Bosa has a sack incentive that would grant him an extra $250,000 on his next sack this season. Here’s hoping it comes against the Browns, giving him a nice payday while adding to his stats.
There are two ways that the incentives can impact the salary cap.
There are LTBE (likely to be earned) incentives, which means that it hits the cap before being achieved, and it’s credited back next year if the player doesn’t. The other is NLTBE (not likely to be earned), which doesn’t hit the cap until it is achieved.
Dawson Knox and Matt Milano have hit some massive contract incentives
As is the case with many players across the league, there are incentives baked into the contract. Sometimes it’s for a certain percentage of snaps played, other times it’s based on yardage or touchdown marks for offense.
Knox has already got himself a nice payday, hitting an incentive earlier this season and taking home some big bucks for it. In the first play from scrimmage against the Cincinnati Bengals, Knox hauled in a 32-yard pass, earning himself $100,000 for it.
The tight end wasn’t the only one who walked away with some cash this season. During the win over the New England Patriots, linebacker Matt Milano looked like an All-Pro version of himself, bringing down quarterback Drake Maye twice in the matchup. With two sacks, it saw Milano bring in an extra $500,000 for his performance. Not a bad day at the office if you ask me.
For Sunday, the goal is simple: Beat the Browns and keep the playoff push rolling. If that also means a few Bills players walk away with a little more cash in their pockets, that’s just a bonus, no pun intended.
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