clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

2017 Packers Workout Bonuses: Almost $5 million on the line for Green Bay players

Green Bay’s front office loves to use incentives to ensure that the team’s players show up for spring workouts.

NFL: Green Bay Packers-Training Camp Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Workout bonuses have become a fact of life for NFL players. This language in player contracts came to prominence over the last decade and a half, as teams realized that they needed to provide incentives to ensure that players attended the spring workout programs at team facilities rather than skipping them and working out on their own.

Now, just about every team in the league includes workout bonus language in their veterans’ contracts, and the Green Bay Packers — one of the pioneering teams in starting this trend — use them more than just about any other team in the league.

In 2017, the Packers will pay out nearly $5 million in workout bonuses; the exact number based our calculations comes out to $4,912,500. Of course, that number assumes that every player meets the requirements for their bonuses. However, with fifteen players having six-digit values for their workout bonuses, you can rest assured that those players will show up for work and put in the necessary time to cash in.

Typically, these bonuses are included in veteran players’ contracts, and rookie contracts do not include workout bonuses. However, the Packers have managed to include workout bonus language in the rookie contracts of three players. In fact, those three individuals are the team’s last three third-round picks: Kyler Fackrell, Ty Montgomery, and Richard Rodgers; this seems too consistent to be a random coincidence.

Here is the complete list of the Packers’ workout bonuses that are to be paid out in 2017, with data retrieved from Over The Cap.

Packers 2017 Workout Bonuses

Player Position Workout Bonus
Player Position Workout Bonus
David Bakhtiari OT $500,000
Clay Matthews OLB $500,000
Jordy Nelson WR $500,000
Aaron Rodgers QB $500,000
Randall Cobb WR $400,000
Mike Daniels DT $400,000
Nick Perry OLB $400,000
Morgan Burnett SS $300,000
Martellus Bennett TE $250,000
Bryan Bulaga OT $250,000
Letroy Guion DT $200,000
Mason Crosby K $150,000
Davon House CB $150,000
Don Barclay OL $100,000
Ricky Jean-Francois DT $100,000
Lance Kendricks TE $75,000
Jayrone Elliott OLB $50,000
Lane Taylor G $50,000
Kyler Fackrell OLB $15,500
Ty Montgomery RB $12,000
Richard Rodgers TE $10,000