When you think about the Carolina Panthers defense from the 2025 season, the name Nick Scott isn’t one of the first players you’d think of.

The team’s veteran safety was truly an underappreciated player for the Panthers defense after starting all 17 regular season games and logging over 1,000 defensive snaps. He doesn’t receive the respect he deserves outside the building despite being a “glue guy” in the locker room and making the most of his opportunities by turning them into a sizable role.

“I have a lot of affection for Nick,” Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero said of Scott. “I was his position coach when we drafted him, and we’re going from a guy that played just special teams, and no one really thought it would amount to being an NFL-caliber starter, and he was able to start for us in the Super Bowl and was instrumental in that entire playoff run.

“I have a lot of respect for what he’s done just because it started off difficult, being a bottom of the roster guy who’s able to achieve success, he got a good contract, and then all of a sudden, facing adversity. And it just every time he faces adversity and faces a difficult situation, he responds, and so that’s what I’m most happy about for him and what I respect the most about him.”

When free agency opened last week, Scott had the opportunity to hit the market for a few days before re-signing with the Panthers on a one-year deal worth up to $3.25 million. It’s a chance to earn a nice pay raise after playing out a one-year, $1,337,500 deal in 2025. And it’s not the only pay bump Scott is going to receive after a solid second season in Carolina.

Nick Scott set to earn another pay day days after re-signing with the Carolina Panthers

The league has a nice little incentive known as performance based pay that rewards players who play a high snap count with low salaries with a little cash bonus. The NFL announced the Top-25 earners for the 2025 season with Scott ranking fourth in the program with an extra $1,262,216 coming his way. That’s nearly more money than he earned the entire season from the Panthers.

The NFL announced performance based pay, where players will receive more than $542M based on their performance. This is a collectively bargained benefit that compensates players based on their playing time and salary levels.
What it is, how it's compiled and the Top 25 earners: pic.twitter.com/5NDUZYvfz4

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2026

Scott will be entering into his eighth NFL season in 2026 and is the oldest player in the Panthers secondary, which comes with it’s own responsibilities as a leader that also go unnoticed.

“Nick is the spirit of the team in a lot of ways,” Panthers special teams coordinator Tracy Smith said. “He’s very energetic, gets the guys going, loves to be in any type of leadership role, and brings his happiness to that situation. When he pops back up, you can always tell, like, OK, Nick’s involved this week because he’s popping around and he’s getting the guys going.”

When building a strong culture and a winning franchise, Scott is the kind of player you want to keep in the building. His re-signing might have flown under the radar, but he’s earned this new money both from the team and from the league.