Dwayne Bowe earned a performance bonus for 2015
By Thomas Moore
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Dwayne Bowe somehow managed to earn a performance bonus from the NFL for his production in 2015.
The NFL established a system in 2002 to reward players who out-perform their contracts in a given year.
The performance based pay program primarily serves to supplement players who are earning at or near the league minimum but who contributed to their teams in a way that is positively disproportionate to their salaries. For the 2015 season, the league’s 32 teams divided up a pool of $3.802 million to the players.
Denver Broncos’ center Matt Paradis was the big winner this year after helping the Broncos win a Super Bowl title, as the second-year player earned a bonus of $391,647.56, a nice addition to his $435,000 salary.
Then there is Cleveland Browns wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.
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Bowe was inexplicably handed a two-year contract worth $12.5 million – including $9 million in guaranteed money – by former general manager Ray Farmer after leaving the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent. (Just one of many of Farmer’s moves that explain why he is now the former general manager.)
Bowe responded by giving the Browns five receptions for 53 yards while only appearing in seven games.
And for that, Bowe earned a performance-based bonus of $2,846.14 from the league.
To quote Clark Griswold, ” If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am now.”
Wide receiver Rannell Hall, who Browns fans will remember from his one offensive snap in the season-finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers, also received a bonus, but his was only $363.49 as he apparently did not contribute as much to the Browns as Bowe did in 2015.
Bowe carries an $8 million salary-cap hit for 2016, and would cost $4.6 million if the Browns release him, so he may have a chance this fall to earn another performance bonus.
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