Dallas Cowboys' DaRon Bland Doubles Salary, Ready to Star With Trevon Diggs

Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland saw his 2023 salary nearly double Monday as the league announced players would receive bonuses from the league’s performance-based pay program.

Bland made $870,000 last season and has received an additional $759,756.

Of the many players that received bonuses, none hauled in more than New York Jets guard John Simpson, who spent last season with the Baltimore Ravens and received $974,613.

Jan 7, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland (26) intercepts a pass

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Bland was stellar last season, logging nine interceptions and returning five for a touchdown, a league record. For his effort, Bland was a first-team All-Pro selection. He has soared beyond the expectations placed on him when he was selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Fresno State.

Bland has recorded 14 career interceptions in just 34 games spanning two seasons.

The NFL explained how the performance-based pay program works in a release: “Under the Performance-Based Pay program, a fund is created and used as a supplemental form of player compensation based upon a comparison of playing time to salary. Players become eligible to receive a bonus distribution in any regular season in which they play at least one official down. In general, players with higher playtime percentages and lower salaries benefit most from the pool.  

“Performance-Based Pay is computed by using a player index (“Index”). To calculate the Index, a player’s “PBP Playtime” (defined as the player’s regular season total plays played on offense, defense and special teams, divided by the number of plays in which the player with the most total combined plays participated on that team) is divided by his “PBP Compensation” (defined as each player’s regular season full salary, including his prorated portion of signing bonus, and earned incentives). Each player’s Index is then compared to those of all other players on his team to determine the amount of his Performance-Based Pay.”

At whatever price, the Cowboys have discovered a playmaker in Bland to play opposite star Trevon Diggs as part of the Dallas secondary in 2024 and beyond.