Two Pittsburgh Steelers have received a bonus from the NFL.
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson and right guard Mason McCormick were two players to receive a cut of more than $542 million handed out on behalf of the Performance-Based Pay Program.
McCormick earned the most out of the two with a $1.173 payday, which was the eighth most in the NFL, while Wilson earned $1.102 million, which ranked 14th, NFL Network's Mike Garafolois designed to compensate all players based on their playing time and salary levels. All players have to do is play just one official down in a season to become eligible, but some players receive more than others based on a comparison of playing time and salary — i.e., players on lower salaries who have high playtime percentages benefit most from the program. The program was introduced in 2002 as part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the players' association. Nearly $3.3 billion has been paid to players since the program's inception. This year marked the first time the top 25 players received over $1 million from the program.Dec 8, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers guard Mason McCormick takes the field for a game against the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn ImagesThat means McCormick more than doubled his salary after allowing five sacks and 27 pressures last season, and being one of the Steelers' top run blockers, per PFF. Wilson was in a similar situation to McCormick after posting 126 tackles , two sacks, five run stuffs, a fumble recovery, an interception and two pass breakups. Both players were selected a round apart by Pittsburgh in the 2024 NFL Draft., meaning he, too, earned more than twice his salary, even though he played 762 of 1,233 total defensive snaps . Both McCormick and Wilson will be key pieces for the Steelers heading into the 2026 season. McCormick is expected to man the right guard spot again, between center Zach Frazier and takle Troy Fautanu. However, he will be the only returning starting guard after Isaac Seumalo signed with the Arizona Cardinals.surrounding the LSU product. The two were the Steelers' top tacklers last season and combined for 246 hits, 14 for a loss and three sacks.MITCHELL CORCORAN Mitch is a passionate storyteller and sports fanatic. He started his journalism career as an undergraduate at Penn State, covering several athletic programs for the student-run blog, Onward State. He previously worked for NBC Sports, The Tribune-Democrat and the Altoona Mirror as a freelancer.Joey Porter Jr. Biggest Winner of Steelers Free Agency Moves
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