ust days after inking a deal with the New York Jets, cornerback Nahshon Wright received some unexpected but welcome news—a hefty bonus check that made him the top earner in the NFL’s performance-based pay program for the 2025 season.
The league announced Monday that Wright led all players with an additional $1.4 million on top of his original $1.1 million salary with the Bears last season. Now a free agent signing, the 27-year-old landed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Jets on March 12—making his recent windfall an even sweeter addition.
Wright was among 25 players who each earned at least $1 million in performance-based bonuses this past season, setting a new league record. That milestone comes just one year after Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood became the first NFL player to cross the seven-figure mark in such bonuses.
Close behind Wright were two undrafted standouts: Browns safety Ronnie Hickman, who collected $1.29 million, and Falcons tackle Elijah Wilkinson, who added $1.27 million to his earnings. Importantly, these bonuses don’t count against team salary caps.
The performance-based pay system rewards players whose playing time outpaces their base salary. For lower-paid athletes logging heavy snaps, the payoff can be substantial—and Wright’s case proved just how substantial.
Wright isn’t the first player with Jets ties to top the bonus list. Sherwood led the pack in 2025, and offensive lineman John Simpson topped all players in 2024 with an extra $975,000.
Originally a third-round pick by the Cowboys out of Oregon State in 2021, Wright signed a one-year deal with Chicago in March 2025 and went on to start 16 regular-season games plus two postseason contests. He played in a staggering 97% of the Bears’ defensive snaps and 4% of special teams plays, emerging as a turnover machine with five interceptions, two forced fumbles, and three recoveries—earning his first Pro Bowl nod along the way. The bonus alone more than doubled his salary from last season.
Since its creation in 2002 as part of the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union, the performance-based pay system has distributed roughly $3.3 billion in bonuses. What started as a $15 million pool has ballooned to $542 million for 2025, up from $452 million the previous year—proof that the league’s commitment to rewarding undervalued contributors continues to grow.
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