Each team will play an extra regular-season game in 2021 and in the years to come after the NFL approved the expanded schedule this week. While some players may not be thrilled with the additional game, it will earn them an extra paycheck.
For Aaron Donald, that check will be worth more than $1 million. He’s among a group of players who will earn at least $1 million extra in 2021 determined by their base salaries. Donald averages $22.5 million per year, and because his contract was signed prior to Feb. 26, 2020, when the new CBA was finalized, he will get an extra check of more than $1 million.
It won’t match what former Rams quarterback Jared Goff will earn, though. He will make an extra $1.5 million thanks to the expanded regular season, the result of his massive $134 million contract.
Other players in line to earn at least an extra $1 million in 2021 — an extra 1/17th of large base salaries on their original contracts — include Jimmy Garoppolo, Matt Ryan, Aaron Donald, Derek Carr, Russell Wilson, Frank Clark, Von Miller, Khalil Mack and DeMarcus Lawrence.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 31, 2021
Based on Pelissero’s formula, Jalen Ramsey and Matthew Stafford could also be in line to make more than $1 million extra next season, with base salaries of $20 million and $27 million, respectively.
There are certainly negative aspects of playing an extra game, like the added wear and tear on players’ bodies, but they won’t go unpaid for the 17th game.