How Much Bonus Money Each Playoff QB Has on the Line in the NFL Postseason

Aaron Rodgers, Trevor Lawrence and more could cash some huge contract bonuses with a protracted playoff run.

Aaron Rodgers is on a one-year deal with the Steelers, and has plenty of incentives to play for in the postseason. / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

The NFL playoffs are upon us, with 14 teams left to compete for the title of Super Bowl champion.

While the Lombardi Trophy is the only prize on the minds of those still battling through the playoffs, several quarterbacks across the league have the chance to cash in on some sizeable contract incentives if they can carry their team on a deep playoff run.

For some QBs, every win in the postseason represents some more money, for others, playoff wins are just another great stat to have the next time they head to the negotiating table.

Here’s a look at the money all 14 starting quarterbacks have on the line this postseason. Contract data comes via Spotrac.

Quarterbacks still on their rookie deals don’t have any flashy incentives, but will be looking to make their next contract a market-setter

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye reacts against the Miami Dolphins. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The youngest quarterbacks playing in the postseason understandably have the least amount of money on the line. Given that rookie contracts are dictated by the NFL’s rookie wage scale rather than more natural negotiations, there isn’t the wiggle room for incentives allowed by later deals.

Bo Nix, Drake Maye, CJ Stroud, Caleb Williams and Bryce Young are all still playing on their rookie deals, and thus don’t have any wild cash to be won week by week this postseason. That said, all five QBs are already looking towards their first extension that will start paying them as a true starter, and playoff wins go a really long way in bumping that salary number up.

Some quarterbacks that are already on monster deals don’t have that much of a need for postseason incentives

Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay reacts with quarterback Matthew Stafford after a touchdown. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

While the rookies don’t really have the option to add a monster Super Bowl bonus to their potential offers, there are other players who simply opt to take more of their money up front.

This year, Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford and Jordan Love are all already playing on massive contracts, and don’t have more money to be won as the postseason rolls along.

These three quarterbacks share a few traits—they are either relatively (Purdy and Love) or extremely (Stafford) proven, and already playing on teams that expect to compete year after year.

They are also already extremely well paid. Purdy and Love both clear $53 million in average annual value, putting them amongst the top eight highest paid quarterbacks in the league. Stafford’s $42 million in AAV puts him a bit lower on the list, but at 37, he’s likely thinking about his career on a year-by-year basis at this point, and with north of $400,000,000 in career earnings to this point, maybe incentives are a bit less of a poing of focus during contract negotiations.

Jalen Hurts can up his annual salary with a deep playoff run

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts throws a pass against the Buffalo Bills. / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has an interesting bonus structure included in the five-year, $255 million extension he signed two years ago. Rather than receiving a bonus check for playoff success, Hurts can up his yearly salary by $500,000 per year moving forward with a Super Bowl win in which he plays at least 70% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps, meaning his Super Bowl win from last year is already paying out dividends.

A trio of star AFC quarterbacks have bonus money on the line, but only if they reach the conference championship

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen runs onto the field before the game against the New York Jets. / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The trio of Trevor Lawrence, Justin Herbert and Josh Allen all have the potential to bring in some significant cash, but given each players’ bonus is tied to them reaching the AFC championship, not all three will have the opportunity to do so.

Lawrence has a $500,000 bonus for a win in the conference championship and a $1 million bonus for a Super Bowl win, as long as he played 60% of the team’s snap in both the regular season and the game in question.

Herbert gets an additional $1.25 million with a win in the AFC championship, and doubles it with a Super Bowl win as long as he clears 50% of snaps.

Allen gets $500,000 with a trip to the Super Bowl and another $500,000 if he lifts the Lombardi.

Sam Darnold has a lot on the line starting next weekend

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold reacts after a win. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Unsurprisingly, the biggest incentives are saved for players who teams either took something of a chance on, or wanted to keep their base salary manageable while also rewarding greatness.

Sam Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million deal with Seattle in the offseason, which keeps his AAV in the bottom half of the NFL amongst starters. But Darnold has already secured an additional $500,000 on the year by leading the Seahawks to a playoff berth.

That bonus is now set to grow with each additional win he can get, bumping to $1 million with a divisional win, $1.5 million with a conference title, and $2.5 million if Seattle wins the Super Bowl.

But no one has a bigger bonus up in the air than Aaron Rodgers

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and defensive tackle Cameron Heyward celebrate after a win. / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Darnold’s playoff bonus is “non-cumulative,” meaning that his extra cash does not stack week over week. If the Seahawks win the Super Bowl, Darnold will get one bonus worth $2.5 million, which supercedes all of the tiers below it.

Aaron Rodgers’s deal with the Steelers includes a cumulative bonus, meaning that each bonus is added to the one that came before.

Rodgers secured $500,000 by getting the Steelers to the playoffs. He can add $600,000 with a win over the Texans on Monday night, add $750,000 to that with a win in the divisional round, $1 million on top of that with a win in the conference championship, and then $1.5 million more on top of that with a Super Bowl win, meaning he can boost his bonus cash from $500,000 to north of $3 million over the next few weeks.

If given the choice, 14 out of 14 quarterbacks would take the Super Bowl win over the bonus money that could come with it. Lucky for them, they don’t have to choose.

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