Germain Ifedi, the guard/tackle who played 99 percent of the Bears snaps last season, led the team in performance-based pay.
He’ll make an extra $570,571 on top of the $1.047 million salary he received last year. Receiver Darnell Mooney, drafted 11 months ago, will receive $419,704. Rounding out the Bears’ top five is safety Tashaun Gipson ($380,548), outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo ($367,659) and defensive lineman Bilal Nichols ($361,896). Gipson is a free agent this offseason, while Mingo signed with the Falcons.
Each offseason, the league distributes performance-based pay through a program that rewards players — both via a standard and veteran pool — who received an outsized amount of playing time compared to their salaries. The payments don’t count against the teams’ salary caps. This year, each team received $8.5 million to be distributed.
NFL players won’t see that money any time soon, though. Because of the lowered salary cap as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, performance-based pay will be deferred until at least 2024, per NFL Network.
