Travis Swanson spent his first season as a starter playing through a shoulder injury that required off-season surgery, and today he got a nice gift for his troubles.
Swanson led all Detroit Lions in performance-based pay, the system the NFL and its players association use to award players whose contributions outpace their salaries.
Swanson, a third-round pick in 2014, was one of 14 Lions who topped $100,000 in performance-based payouts for 2015. He started 14 games at center, and earned an extra $191,905 for his work.
Josh Bynes, who started 11 games at linebacker and finished second on the team with 82 tackles, was second with $181,802, and Nevin Lawson ($174,371), Quandre Diggs ($171,636) and Tahir Whitehead ($164,314) also topped $150,000.