Examining The NFL's Performance-Based Pay Pool And The Running Back Issue

Former NFL cornerback Domonique Foxworth has an interesting idea to "fix" the issue of running back contracts in the league.

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

NASHVILLE - Most fans of the NFL have no idea that the league has a program called the Performance-Based Pay Pool that is used to supplement the pay of certain players each season whose play on the field outperforms their contract. 

According to an NFL Communications press release, this is how they describe how this pool works.  

“Under the Performance-Based Pay program, a fund is created and used as a supplemental form of player compensation based on 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 produce 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 of the player with the most total combined plays on that team) is divided by his “PBP Compensation” (defined as regular season full salary, prorated portion of signing bonus, earned incentives). Each player’s Index is then compared to those of the other players on his team to determine the amount of his Performance-Based Pay. If a player’s base salary is less than the Minimum Salary of a player with seven or more Credited Seasons, then player’s base salary will be imputed to be equal to the Minimum Salary of a player with seven or more Credited Seasons (i.e., $1.120M for the 2022 season). By imputing a minimum salary of $1.120 million, a slightly higher percentage of the pool is directed to high-performing veteran players whose salaries exceed $1.120 million, but are not among the highest in the league, as contemplated by the formula. This imputation of salary is solely for the purpose of calculating distributions from the pool and does not affect the actual salary paid to the player under his contract.”

Former Denver Broncos cornerback Domonique Foxworth, a former third-round selection, recently revealed an interesting thought on the running back contract situation. During a recent episode of his ESPN Podcast, The Domonique Foxworth Show, Foxworth shared his idea on how to alleviate the pay disparity that currently exists in the league between running backs and other positions. 

“I think I honestly have a solution for the issue with running backs," said Foxworth. "So, for those who don't know, it's been ongoing for several years now, probably ten-plus years. The game moves away from running backs being as important."

"It's easier to replace running backs. they get wear and tear, so what ends up happening is running backs don't get big contracts," continued Foxworth. "It's in the news a lot now because Saquon (Barkley) Josh Jacobs, (And) we saw it with Derrick Henry, and Christian McCaffrey, which their value is not fully reached, or paid because of the market on running backs.    

Foxworth continued toward his plan to fix this issue. 

"You can see that the salaries have climbed for every position, in all of football, except for running backs. They are moving at a slower pace," Foxworth said. "And I think even the franchise (tag) number may be lower, which is absurd considering how the cp has grown."

His plan, suing the performance-based pay pool to supplement the running backs.

"That pool is $336 million. In 2019 it was $230 million, and it's continuing to grow. I think that they should see aside a portion of it that is for running backs, or at least there should be some benchmarks that you have to reach over the course of a couple of years, or maybe three years."

"If you meet these performance benchmarks and these playtime benchmarks, then you unlock this performance-based pay bonus."     

While it's unknown if the NFL or the league's owners would ever agree to such a plan, it is something of interest, and given the rise in the amount of cash in that pool in just four years, this would serve to fix the current issue that plagues running backs in this scenario. 

 

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