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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 |