Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph is currently on an extremely team-friendly rookie contract, but the NFLPA has a rule in place that helped him get paid a little bit closer to what he’s worth last season. Joseph earned just short of $1 million—$996,253—in bonuses thanks to a benefit called the “Performance-Based Pay Distribution.”
In short, this bonus is aimed to pay players who are on small contracts closer to what they’re worth based on how much they played in a season. Here’s a fuller explanation from the NFL:
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.