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Each year around this time the NFL releases the performance-based pay totals for every team. These totals are designed so that players who play a lot of snaps but aren't due a high salary can earn some extra money. Note that quality of performance does not factor in here. It's simply based on playing time. Also note that these numbers DO NOT count against the team's salary cap space.
Eagles offensive lineman Matt Tobin was among NFL leaders in performance-based pay for the 2015 season. The third-year guard ranked eighth overall by earning an extra $307,101.44 on top of his $585,000 base salary. Tobin didn't begin the season as a starter but he was forced into the lineup due to injuries on the offensive line. Moving forward, it's clear he best belongs as a backup.
Former Eagles player and U.S. Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva checked in one spot ahead of Tobin at number seven on the list. The Pittsburgh Steelers picked him up after Philadelphia waived him and converted him back into an offensive lineman. Villanueva earned an extra $309,834.87.
Here are the Eagles players earning the most extra money:
Here are the Eagles' biggest winners in the NFL's play-time incentive program. These amounts added to 2015 salaries: pic.twitter.com/Juuij3tj4S
— Reuben Frank (@RoobCSN) March 15, 2016
See below for the exact methodology on how these payouts are calculated.
METHODOLOGY
a) Each player's "Playtime Percentage" shall be calculated by (i) adding the player's total plays on offense or defense, as appropriate, plus special teams and (ii) dividing that number by the team's total plays on offense or defense, as appropriate, plus special teams;
(b) Each player's "PBP Compensation" shall be calculated by adding his full regular season Paragraph 5 Salary, prorated signing bonus for the current League Year (plus any signing bonus acceleration (without regard to the June 1 rule) due to his having been released during the applicable League Year, unless the player is re-signed by his old Club without having missed a week of the regular season), earned incentives, and other compensation for the current League Year, subject to the following provisions:
(i) For all players other than those who receive the Minimum Salary Benefit, the full regular season Paragraph 5 Salary shall be used;
(ii) For players who were released and later resigned by the same Club during the regular season, the Paragraph 5 Salary from the player's initial contract shall be used for the period ending with the player's release, and the Paragraph 5 Salary from the player's subsequent contract shall be used for the period from release through the term of the subsequent contract;
(iii) For players who receive the Minimum Salary Benefit, the Paragraph 5 Minimum Salary amount for a player with two Credited Seasons, rather than the stated Paragraph 5 Salary, shall be used to calculate the player's PBP Compensation;
(iv) If a Player Contract is renegotiated after the Monday of the tenth week of the regular season to include an unearned incentive for the current League Year that is treated as signing bonus, such incentive shall not be counted in the calculation of the PBP Compensation; and
(v) If a portion of the player's Paragraph 5 Salary is treated as signing bonus, the full Paragraph 5 Salary (rather than the current year's proration) will be counted; all other amounts treated as signing bonus will be included on a prorated basis except for unearned incentives, as described in Subsection
(iv) above.
(c) Each player's "PBP Index" shall be calculated by dividing the player's Playtime Percentage by his PBP Compensation;
(d) Each player shall receive an allocation from the fund determined by
(i) dividing his PBP Index by the sum of the PBP Indices for each player on the Club and then
(ii) multiplying that percentage by the Club's total PBP allocation.
(e) For PBP purposes, a play is counted towards playtime percentage if the play runs to completion, regardless if the play was nullified by a penalty (e.g., a play that is blown dead by a penalty, due to a false start or encroachment penalties, etc. do not count in this calculation). A play is defined by the personnel on the field. A fake punt or field goal is considered a Special Teams play, and a 2-point conversion attempt is considered an offensive/defensive play.