Kerby Joseph Earned Sixth-Highest Performance Bonus in NFL

Lions safety earned performance-based pay for his stellar 2024 season.

Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) warms up before the game against the San Francisco 49ers | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph earned the sixth-highest performance bonus in the National Football League, collecting $996,253.

NFL players are able to earn bonuses based on their performance, due to a collectively bargained Performance-Based Pay program that rewards all players based upon their playing time and salary levels.

According to a league memo, "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."

In 2024, players across the league will receive over $452 million in performance-based compensation for their performance during the season.

New York Jets’ linebacker Jamien Sherwood earned the highest amount. His $1,092,206 bonus more than doubled his salary with the AFC East squad.

In his third NFL season, Detroit's talented safety recorded a league-leading nine interceptions. The former third-round draft pick earned an overall PFF grade of 91.0, which ranked first among all qualified safeties who had logged at least 100 snaps. His 91.9 coverage grade also ranked first among 170 safeties.

"Players have been paid nearly $2.8 billion cumulatively since the inception of the Performance-Based Pay program, which was implemented during the 2002 season as part of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Association, and has been carried forward in three subsequent collective bargaining agreements."