Two weeks ago, the Las Vegas Raiders had a really bizarre game against the Denver Broncos. It was the game where they moved the ball down the field so they could kick a meaningless field goal that ended up getting the Raiders to cover, and it also hit the over. Remember that, and how it wasn’t shady at all?
There are two possible reasons why they did it: someone (read: Pete Carroll) knew the spread and wanted to help people out, or he wanted to try to get kicker Daniel Carlson into the Pro Bowl. If Carlson is a Pro-Bowler this year, he’ll make an extra $100,000 from incentives.
Those incentives are a decent chunk of some players’ contracts. They can get a decent payday based on some statistical milestones and awards that they get by the end of the season. Not everyone has them, but they’re fun to look at as the season comes to an end. It's good to know who's playing for what, and what they're playing for.
We’re not going to look at the ones where a player gets money for being a Pro-Bowler, an All-Pro, or if they win a Super Bowl. We’re looking at the ones about the actual stats.
- Baltimore Ravens
- Buffalo Bills
- Carolina Panthers
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Dallas Cowboys
- Houston Texans
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Los Angeles Chargers
- New England Patriots
- New Orleans Saints
- New York Jets
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Washington Commanders
Baltimore Ravens
Dre’Mont Jones, DT - Sacks, playing time
7 sacks for $750,000
9 sacks for $1 million
Currently: 6 sacks
Dre’Mont Jones was one of the less-juicy trade deadline moves; he went from the Titans to the Ravens. That’s kind of important because he had a sack in his final four games in Tennessee. Since he’s been in Baltimore, he’s had just one game with a sack… in Week 12 against the Jets… who have the highest sack rate in the NFL (11%).
His remaining games are against the Patriots, the Packers, and the Steelers. If he’s going to make some money, it’s probably going to be in that Week 18 game.
Buffalo Bills
Christian Benford, CB - Interceptions
4 interceptions for $400,000
5 Interceptions for $650,000
6 interceptions for $1 million
Currently: 2 interceptions
The last time we saw Christian Benford was in Week 14, and he high-pointed a ball for a 65-ish yard pick-six against the Bengals. He was seen in a walking boot after that game, and then he didn’t play in Week 15.
If he does play, he’s got a decent chance for a couple of turnovers to end the season. The Bills get Shedeur Sanders and the Browns in Week 16, then Tyrod Taylor and the Jets in Week 18.
Both of those guys have only started four games this season, but they’ve thrown a combined 11 interceptions.
Khalil Shakir, WR - Receptions, Receiving TDs
80 receptions for $150,000
90 receptions for $300,000
Currently: 62 receptions
5 receiving TDs for $150,000
6 receiving TDs for $300,000
Currently: 4 TDs
80 receptions and five touchdowns are very gettable for Shakir… It just comes down to whether or not the ball comes his way. He’ll need to average six catches in the next three games.
There are just two problems with that. The first is that he has six games with at least six catches, which means he has eight games with fewer than six… and in three of those games, he only had one catch.
The second problem is that one of his last three games is against the Eagles. The Eagles have only allowed five receivers to have six or more catches in a game: Puka Nacua, George Pickens, Jordan Addison, Courtland Sutton, CeeDee Lamb, and Wasn’Dale Robinson.
Shakir’s role in the Bills’ offense is not the same as any of those guys. If he can get on Josh Allen’s good side, he’ll have a chance to get some money.
You can say the same thing about the touchdowns, but that’ll be weirdly easier.
Dawson Knox, TE - Receptions, Receiving yards, TDs
30 receptions for $100,000
40 receptions for $100,000
Currently: 28 receptions
400 receiving yards for $100,000
Currently: 353 receiving yards
Dawson Knox can spend the $200,000 right now if he wants to; that’s money in the bank.
DaQuan Jones, DT - Sacks
4 sacks for $500,000
5 sacks for $1 million
Currently: 3 sacks
There’s definitely a way that DaQuan Jones can get to four sacks. Would I bet on it? Probably not. He’s 33 years old, and this is his 12th season in the NFL. His career high is 3.5 sacks, and that was in 2017 with the Titans.
Joey Bosa, DE - Sacks
6 sacks for $250,000
Currently: 5 sacks
In six of Bosa’s 10 seasons in the NFL, he’s had at least six sacks. Three of the seasons that he didn’t have six were seasons where he missed a whole bunch of time. You have to think that a guy on a one-year deal will be able to get one more in the next three games
Carolina Panthers
Rico Dowdle, RB - Scrimmage yards, TDs
1,350 scrimmage yards for $1 million
Currently: 1,237 yards
8 TDs for $250,000
Currently: 7 TDs
Rico Dowdle is already having himself one hell of a season. The 1,350 yards and eight touchdowns are escalators in his contract. In his case, he’s already made $1.75 million from incentives. This dude is going to be all kinds of rich after this season.
Cincinnati Bengals
Joseph Ossai, DE - Sacks
6 sacks for $250,000
Currently: 5 sacks
Ossai’s got a solid chance of getting his last sack. The Bengals are playing the Dolphins, the Cardinals, and the Browns to close out their nightmare season. That means all he has to do is get after Quinn Ewers, Jacoby Brissett, and Shedeur. That’s not super hard to do.
Dallas Cowboys
Javonte Williams, RB, - Scrimmage yards
1,250 scrimmage yards for $250,000
Currently: 1,241 yards
I mean… yeah. Javonte Williams has been having the best season of his career by a mile. The Cowboys aren’t going to make it to the postseason, but he’ll be fine sleeping on his bed made of cash.
Houston Texans
Nick Chubb, RB - Rushing yards
600 rushing yards for $250,000
Currently: 472 yards
Nick Chubb needs 128 rushing yards for his incentive; that’s going to be an average of 43 yards per. That’s not going to be easy.
Not only is he dealing with some injuries, but he’s also averaging 36 rushing yards per game this season. As a matter of fact, he’s only had 43 or more yards in six games this season, and he hasn’t had one of those games since Week 10. Maybe if Woody Marks misses time with whatever he’s dealing with, it’ll open the door for Chubb, but who knows?
This week, the Texans get to play the Raiders. If there’s a time for Chubb to lay the hammer down and get his money, it’ll be on Sunday.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Arik Armstead, DT - Sacks
7 sacks for $1 Million
Currently: 5.5 sacks
It seems like this one might be out of reach for Armstead. His last three games are against Bo Nix and the Broncos, Phillip Rivers and the Colts, and Cam Ward and the Titans.
Cam Ward has sneakily been better at not getting sacked over the past month. In the past four games, he’s only been sacked eight times. It makes sense because he’s a rookie and it’s the end of the season; he’s not a three-sack-gimme anymore.
Kansas City Chiefs
Hollywood Brown, WR - Touchdowns, Receiving yards
6 TDs for $750,000
7 TDs for $1 Million
Currently: 5 TDs
500 receiving yards for $500,000
Currently: 494 receiving yards
Gardner Minshew must be a locker room favorite because he gets everyone involved. Last season, when he was with the Raiders, he threw nine touchdowns to seven different players. He wasn’t just locking in on Davante Adams and Brock Bowers; he was hitting Ameer Abdullah and D.J. Turner, too.
Hollywood Brown is a second thought in the Chiefs' offense, but that’s exactly the type of cat Minshew likes to get involved. I imagine he’ll get his touchdown money.
Los Angeles Chargers
Keenan Allen, WR - Receptions, Receiving yards
71 receptions for $250,000
80 receptions for $750,000
Currently: 68 receptions
750 receiving yards for $250,000
Currently: 680 yards
The Chargers’ offense can flow if they force-feed the ball to Keenan Allen or if they completely ignore him. The 750 yards and 71 receptions (which is a weird number) seem like sure things, but they’re going to have to go out of their way to get him to 80.
The thing is, he’s 33 years old. The Broncos have a two-game lead in the division, and the Chargers have a two-game lead over the eighth-place Colts. It wouldn’t be crazy if they shut Allen down in Week 18. That means two games to get 12 catches and 70 yards. It’s doable, but not a gimme.
New England Patriots
Stefon Diggs, WR - Receptions
70 receptions for $500,000
80 receptions for $500,000
Currently: 67 receptions
Stefon Diggs has been in a slump lately, but only for yardage. Luckily for him, yardage isn’t the thing that’s going to make him money. He’s averaging five-ish catches per game, but there are a 10 catch game and a nine catch game that are really bumping that number up; it’s much more likely that he’ll end a game with three catches.
If it comes down to that Week 18 game, getting Diggs to 80 is going to have to be a concerted effort.
Hunter Henry, TE - Receptions
50 receptions for $250,000
55 receptions for $250,000
Currently: 46 receptions
Hunter Henry gets ignored in a game, or everything flows through him. He and Diggs need to have a conversation to see who’s going to be Drake Maye’s guy.
Mack Hollins, WR - Receptions
40 receptions for $300,000
Currently: 39 receptions
Think about how many silly outfits Mack Hollins is going to be able to buy with an extra $300,000 in his bank account… especially if he doesn’t have to buy shoes with those outfits.
New Orleans Saints
Juwan Johnson, TE - Receptions, Receiving yards
70 receptions for $250,000
Currently: 62 receptions
700 receiving yards for $125,000
Currently: 644 receiving yards
You’ve got to think that Tyler Shough will be able to get his second-leading pass catcher the ball eight times in the next three games. The yards are going to come with those catches.
Cam Jordan, DE - Sacks
7 sacks for $400,000
Currently: 6.5 sacks
This is Cam Jordan’s 15th season in the NFL. He’s had at least seven sacks in 11 of them: his rookie season, 2023, and 2024. That’s kind of crazy.
New York Jets
Nick Folk, K - FG made
27 FGs for $125,000
Currently: 25 FGs
On one hand, it’s easy for a head coach to get his kicker some field goals, especially if the team is already dead in the water. On the other hand, Aaron Glenn doesn’t seem like the kind of coach who would go out of his way to do that.
Kene Nwangwu, KR - Kick return touchdowns
2 kick return touchdowns for $500,000
Currently: 1 KRTD
I’m only including this because it’s an absurd ask for a player. The dude already has one, which is nuts, but he needs another one to make $500,000? That’s wild.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sterling Shepard, WR - Receptions, Receiving yards
40 receptions for $125,000
50 receptions for $125,000
Currently: 39 receptions
400 receiving yards for $125,000
500 receiving yards for $125,000
Currently: 371 receiving yards
If the Buccaneers didn’t choke away their lead in the NFC South, Sterling Shepard would probably have a solid chance to get 50 catches and 500 yards. They’d be able to give Mike Evans and Chris Godwin some rest near the end of the season and let Emeka Egbuka and Shepard be the WR1 and WR2.
Instead, he’s getting just a handful of targets every game. It’s going to be tough for him to hit that second tier.
Washington Commanders
Deebo Samuel, WR - Receptions, Receiving yards
70 receptions for $450,000
Currently: 65 receptions
700 receiving yards for $250,000
Currently: 604 receiving yards
Deebo Samuel is going to get his catches because it’s easy to manufacture those, especially for a player like him. As for the yards? Woof. That’s tougher.
The Commanders' last three games are against the Eagles, the Cowboys, and the Eagles. He’ll definitely have a chance to put up some numbers against Dallas, but those two games against the Eagles’ secondary are going to be rough.
If he doesn’t get his 96 yards against the Cowboys, he’s going to really have to hope the Eagles rest their starters in Week 18. Kelee Ringo, Michael Carter, and Jakorian Bennett are much more gettable than Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Adoree’ Jackson.