How Much Do NFL Players Make During the Playoffs?
NFL players are paid their yearly salaries on a weekly basis (aside from signing, roster and other bonuses) from the first game of the season through the last, including the team's bye week. Team payments and contracts end, however, with the regular season. During the postseason, players are paid by the league through a designated postseason fund as opposed to being paid by their individual teams.
A handful of players have postseason incentives worked into their contract from their team, but most only recieve on league pay. The NFL pays every player on the 53-man active roster an identical amount per postseason appearance and/or win regardless of impact or performance.
Once NFL player contracts become irrelevant, here are the per-player payouts this year, per the CBA.
Wild Card Round—Division Winner: $29,000
Wild Card Team: $27,000
Divisional Round: $29,000
Conference Championship: $54,000
Super Bowl Winner: $118,000
Super Bowl Loser: $59,000
Compared to the NFL's minimum salary for 2018, which was $480,000 for a rookie, the postseason payout from the league does not amount to much.
Note that teams earning a bye week for the first round—the Chiefs, Patriots, Saints and Rams this season—are not paid for that week. Every played on the active roster, inactive list or on a franchise's injured reserve list at the time of a wild card game or divisional round will be paid the full amount designated.
For conference championship games and the Super Bowl, the payout is more nuanced and depends on a player's most recent participation.
