GREEN BAY, Wis. – Davante Adams would probably give $31,250 if he could go back and play in the Green Bay Packers’ regular-season finale. That’s how much he lost because his knee injury forced him to the inactive list and in the process, he missed the chance at team history.
Adams entered the final week of the season just one catch short of Sterling Sharpe’s franchise record for catches in a season (112). It also prevented Adams from making a run at Jordy Nelson’s single-season receiving yardage record (1,519). Instead, Adams finished with 111 catches for 1,386 yards.
Safe to say Adams lived up to the four-year, $58 million contract extension he signed in December 2017. That contract included weekly roster bonuses for $31,250 per game active in 2018. Adams played in the first 15 games of the season and collected $468,750 of his possible $500,000 in weekly roster bonuses.
The Packers had 15 players with weekly per-game roster bonuses this past season. Six of them played in all 16 games and therefore collected their full amount.
On the other end of the spectrum was Muhammad Wilkerson. The defensive tackle lost the most in the roster-bonus sweepstakes. His one-year, $5 million deal included $600,000 in weekly bonuses or $37,500 per game. Wilkerson broke his ankle in Week 3 at Washington and missed the rest of the season. The injury cost him $487,500 in missed roster bonuses.
But it may have cost Wilkerson more than just money for 2018. It impacted future earnings as well. He signed a one-year deal with the Packers with the hope that he would prove he could get back to the way he played early in his career with the Jets, a level of play that got him a five-year, $85 million contract. He lasted only two years with the Jets under that deal before they cut him.
Now, Wilkerson probably will have to sign another short-term, prove-it contract.
Oft-injured linebacker Nick Perry missed out on $262,500 of a possible $600,000 bonus, while Randall Cobb lost $218,750 of a $500,000 bonus.
In all, the Packers paid out $5.4 million of a possible $6.75 million in weekly roster bonuses. The unpaid $1.35 million will be credited to the team’s 2019 salary cap.
Last year, the Packers paid $5,981,250 of a possible $8 million in weekly bonuses. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had weekly roster bonuses under his old deal but did not have any for 2018 in the $134 million extension he signed in August.
Here’s a look at how much each Packers player with a weekly roster bonus in his contract collected this past season:
Bryan Bulaga: $568,750 ($40,625 per game active, lost out on $81,250)
David Bakhtiari: $500,000 ($31,250 per game)
Corey Linsley: $500,000 ($31,250 per game)
Clay Matthews: $500,000 ($31,250 per game)
Davante Adams: $468,750 ($31,250 per game, lost $31,250)
Lane Taylor: $468,750 ($31,250 per game, lost $31,250)
Tramon Williams: $400,000 ($25,000 per game)
Nick Perry: $337,500 ($37,500 per game, lost $262,500)
Mike Daniels: $312,500 ($31,250 per game, lost $187,500)
Jimmy Graham: $300,000 ($18,750 per game)
Lance Kendricks: $300,000 ($18,750 per game)
Randall Cobb: $281,250 ($31,250 per game, lost $218,750)
Mason Crosby: $200,000 ($12,500 per game)
Byron Bell: $150,000 ($12,500 per game, lost $50,000)
Muhammad Wilkerson: $112,500 ($37,500 per game, lost $487,500)
Total payout: $5.4 million ($1.35 million not paid out)