Christian Kirksey earns a deserved performance bonus for 2016
By Thomas Moore
Cleveland Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey pocketed a well-deserved performance bonus from the NFL this week. Now will the Browns pay him?
The NFL announced its performance-based pay distributions this week and Cleveland Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey made the Top 25 list for veterans.
Kirksey received $84,154.17 from the system, which 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.
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For the 2016 season, the league’s 32 teams divided up a pool of $159.84 million to its players, according to a league press release. Atlanta Falcons cornerback Brian Poole was the highest-earner at $371,783.11, while Oakland Raiders guard Gabe Jackson was tops among the veteran group at $91,475.02.
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Kirksey just finished his third year with the Browns after being selected in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Iowa. This past season was his first as a full-time starter and he responded by leading the team in tackles with 148, a number that put him at third in the entire NFL.
Those totals made Kirksey more deserving of a bonus that former Browns wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, who inexplicably earned a bonus of $2,846.14 for the 2015 season, a year that saw him give the Browns five receptions for 53 yards while appearing in seven games. Oh, and the Browns paid him $9 million for the privilege.
Kirksey, who was the recipient of the team’s annual Good Guy Award for 2016, picked a good time to have his best season as he enters the final year of his rookie contract this fall.
The Browns recently signed offensive guard Joel Bitonio, their second-round pick from 2014, to a contract extension and with executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown publicly stating the team wants to hold onto its own players, Kirksey would seem to be in line for a new deal as well.
Near the end of the season, head coach Hue Jackson gave some praise to Kirksey’s growth as a player, according to the team’s website:
"“Kirko is a rising football player on our football team and within pro football itself. He’s had a hell of a year and he needs to keep growing, but I think he gets it. It’s about team for him. It has never just been about him, and I appreciate it.”"
The Browns were able to re-sign linebacker Jamie Collins before he hit the open market, and have young players like Danny Shelton and Emmanuel Ogbah among the defensive front seven. They also have ample opportunity to add more defensive talent in the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft.
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If Kirksey can continue to show the type of production he did in 2016, he should be a solid member of the group for the next few years.