27 NFL teams have contracts for players that include some sort of performance-based incentives. The vast majority of these are based on individual stats but can include team performance such as the $1.25 million Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will get if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are among those five teams who have no player-based incentives coming due. This is because the Steelers front office doesn’t ascribe to the notion of building them into player contracts. In general, the Steelers operate with very basic contract structures in all phases compared to much of the league.
For the NFL, these incentives fall into one of two categories. Likely to be earned (LTBE) or not likely to be earned (NLTBE). LTBE incentives are already built into the salary cap and if a player doesn’t earn them, that money is credited to the salary cap the following season. NFLTBE incentives do not count until the following year’s salary cap.
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