49ers QB Brock PurdyKevin Sabitus/Getty ImagesMany NFL players actually take a pay cut in the postseason because their regular-season salary is broken down into weekly game checks. Therefore, earning $50,500 for competing in the divisional round doesn't mean a lot to a star like, say, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
However, postseason payouts can be substantial for some players, especially those on rookie contracts. 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, for example, earned a base salary of only $870,000 in 2023.
Purdy stands to earn an extra $75,000 by winning the Super Bowl instead of simply playing in it. That bonus for winning would represent nearly nine percent of his entire 2023 salary.
And Purdy isn't even the lowest-paid player on his team. Rookie linebacker Robert Beal Jr., a fifth-round pick out of Georgia, earned a base salary of just $550,000 this season. The $73,000 payday he received for playing on special teams against the Detroit Lions in the NFC title game was more than 13 percent of his base salary.
Players appearing in Super Bowl LVIII aren't the only ones who stand to earn extra money next weekend. As Joel Curry of CBS Sports explained, other players, including those on injured reserve, are subject to full or partial payments as well.
Players eligible for the full bonus include:
- Those on the 53-man roster who have also been on the roster for the previous three games.
- Veterans who were placed on injured reserve during the regular season and who are still under contract.
- Vested veterans (four or more years) who were placed on injured reserve during the preseason and who remain under contract.
- Players who are not on the 53-man roster but who spent at least eight games with the team and who aren't under contract with another team in the same conference.
Other players are eligible for half of the bonus amount, including those on the active roster who haven't been on the roster for the three previous games and those who were on the active roster for between three and seven games but are no longer.
Beal should qualify for the full amount, since he was on the active roster at the end of the regular season and both of San Francisco's playoff games. Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon was placed on injured reserve in late December. While the Chiefs have designated him for return, he should also be eligible for the full amount even if he isn't activated.
Cornerback Anthony Brown, who was released after appearing in only two games for the 49ers, is not eligible for the half bonus.
Again, for well-compensated stars like Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey, postseason bonuses aren't nearly as important as a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. For some players, though, winning the NFL's final game can deliver a fairly impressive chunk of change.
The 49ers didn't play in the wild-card round, but winning the Super Bowl would still bring their postseason bonus total to $333,000. Chiefs players, who won the AFC West and played in the wild-card round, would earn a bonus total of $338,000 with a Super Bowl victory.
We'll have to wait until next Sunday to see just how far each team's bonus total rises.
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