Dolphins Cornerback Received Fifth Highest Salary Bonus in 2023

Kader Kohou continues to play plenty for the Dolphins, and doubled his salary as a result

Nov 24, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (17) / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Even though Kader Kohou struggled in his second NFL season, his playing time earned the Miami Dolphins’ cornerback the fifth highest playing time pay boost for the 2023 season.

Kohou, a former Texas A&M-Commerce standout, not only made it onto the Dolphins roster as an undrafted rookie in 2022, but became the team's top nickel cornerback, starting 13 of the 15 games he played that season.

He played well enough as rookie to earn a larger role in Miami’s offense last season, but when called on to start opposite Xavien Howard, serving as more than just the team’s nickel package cornerback, Kohou struggled in 2023.

According to Pro Football Reference, a statistical and analytical based website, Kohou allowed 81.9 percent of passes thrown to receivers he was defending to be completed. He allowed eight touchdowns in the 17 games he played, and allowed a cumulative passer rating of 131.0 when opposing quarterbacks targeted defenders he was covering.

In fairness to Kohou, who returned to a nickel exclusive role when Jalen Ramsey came back from the knee injury he suffered in training camp, a lot of his breakdowns were a byproduct of Miami playing in zone coverage a ton, and opposing defenses running crossing routes with the slot receivers.

When that happens it’s hard to say who is truly responsible for the receiver running into open space, but the Dolphins defense struggled with that passing strategy all season, and never fixed the problem.

KOHOU DOUBLED HIS SALARY

However, the 938 defensive snaps earned Kohou $878,167 extra in pay based on a program that compensates lower salary players who have higher playtime percentages.

NFL players will receive $393.8 million in Performance-Based Pay for their play in 2023, and Baltimore Ravens offensive guard John Simpson, a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, was the highest earning, pulling in $974,613.

Philadelphia safety Reed Blankenship, who was an undrafted player in 2022, was the second highest bonus earner, pulling in $923,059, and two offensive linemen - Buffalo's Spencer Brown ($912,723) and Cincinnati's Cordell Volson ($905,972) - were the three other players who rounded out the top five.

For rookies on minimum salary contracts like Kohou, who earned $870,000 in base salary last season, and will earn $985,000 this season, a bonus that matches his annual paycheck is ideal.

Players have been paid nearly $2.4 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 Player’s Association, and has been carried forward in three subsequent collective bargaining agreements.

CAN KOHOU REBOUND?

This camp Kohou will likely compete with Nik Needham, a former starter who was re-signed, and Ethan Bonner, an undrafted rookie who impressed Miami's coaches in practice, for the nickel and dime cornerback role because the Dolphins intend on having Jalen Ramsey shadow the opposition's best receiver, and then put Kendall Fuller or Cam Smith, a 2023 second-round pick, on the boundary.

Despite his struggles the coaching staff's confidence never wavered on Kohou, and the hope is that his second-year slump will motivate him, and inspire significant growth to his overall game.

Expect the Dolphins, which haven't re-signed Eli Apple, Keion Crossen or Justin Bethel yet, to add at least two more cornerbacks before training camp because depth is annually an issue at this position.