The NFL revealed on Monday that the league paid out more than $542 million in performance-based pay in 2025. And one member of the Washington Commanders received a big payday.
Left guard Chris Paul, a 2022 seventh-round pick, had appeared in 17 games, making only eight starts in his first three NFL seasons. However, before the Week 3 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Commanders benched second-year offensive lineman Brandon Coleman and inserted Paul into the starting lineup at left guard.
Paul took advantage of the opportunity, starting the last 15 games and becoming a bright spot for Washington in an otherwise disappointing season. His starting opportunity also came at the right time, as Paul was scheduled for unrestricted free agency after the 2025 season.
Paul received just over $1.2 million in 2025 performance-based pay, which was the fifth-highest in all of the NFL for 2025. It more than doubled Paul’s contractual earnings for the final season of his rookie deal, which was $1.1 million.
Most believed that Paul had priced himself out of Washington’s comfort zone with his play. Interior offensive linemen get paid in free agency, and Paul was expected to have a robust market. With the Commanders having made significant commitments to Laremy Tunsil and Sam Cosmi, it didn’t appear they’d make a competitive offer for Paul. Instead, after speaking with other teams, Paul chose to return to Washington for 2026.
The NFL’s performance-based pay program is collectively bargained, with all 32 teams receiving an allocation of the performance-based pay pool. Here’s a description of how the program works.
Performance-Based Pay is computed by using a player index (“Index”). To calculate 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 in which the player with the most total combined plays participated on that team) is divided by his “PBP Compensation” (defined as each player’s regular season full salary, including his prorated portion of signing bonus, and earned incentives). Each player’s Index is then compared to those of all other players on his team to determine the amount of his Performance-Based Pay. If a player’s full season salary is less than the CBA Minimum Salary for a player with seven or more Credited Seasons, additional salary will be imputed to that player so that his salary is equal to the Minimum Salary for a player with seven or more Credited Seasons (i.e., $1.255M for the 2025 season).…Read more by Bryan Manning