How Much Does an NFL Player Get Paid for Winning the Super Bowl? Detailing Bonuses and Incentives

The Super Bowl isn’t just a legacy-definer for players. It is the ultimate accomplishment in the ultimate team sport.

But beyond the fame and the accolades, the victory represents a significant financial bonus as well. For players, the monetary benefits align with the main goal of the sport. What are the incentives that players earn for the big game?

What Are the Super Bowl Incentives?

Every year, each member of the winning team in the Super Bowl receives a significant bonus to their already agreed-upon salary.

Last year, that number was at $171,000, up $7,000 from the previous season. However, these incentives aren’t just limited to the winning team in the Super Bowl.

For each round of the playoffs, the NFL allocates certain funds to reward players who had the best season. For division winners, that number is at $54,500, whereas for the Wild Card Round winners or teams with a first-round bye, the number is $49,500.

As the rounds progress, the number keeps on increasing, with the Divisional Round victors gaining $54,500 before earning an additional $77,000 for the Conference Championship.

Making it to the Super Bowl, however, gives the number a significant bump. Even for the losing team, each member is allocated $96,000, whereas the winning team gets $171,000, as specified above.

Since both the Seahawks and the Patriots already had their divisions secured, the winning team is going to net each member of its roster an extra $502,500.

But, for some players, the incentives go beyond that. In certain contracts, specific incentives for the Super Bowl are already in place. For example, Sam Darnold will win a $2.5 million bonus if he leads to Seahawks to victory tonight vs. the Patriots.

Super Bowl 60 Preview: Patriots vs. Seahawks

Super Bowl 60 features two of the most surprising conference champions in recent memory. The Patriots and Seahawks posted identical records during the regular season (14-3) and both quarterbacks exceeded all expectations.

Patriots QB Drake Maye finished second in MVP voting after a breakout regular season, while Seahawks QB Sam Darnold authored the league’s best redemption story.

However, both teams advanced this far in large part because of their excellent defenses, so this could be a low-scoring affair. Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks were the third-best D in the league during the regular season, according to PFSN’s Defense Impact metric, while the Patriots’ 12th-ranked defense has gotten hot at the right time.

Here’s how each overall unit and the starters from both New England and Seattle graded in PFSN’s Impact grades, giving you a player-by-player breakdown of each squad.

Offense

PFSN Offense Impact (OFFi)
NE: 86.6, B (2nd)
SEA: 79.8, C+ (9th)

PFSN Offensive Line Impact (OLi)
NE: 74.5, C (12th)
SEA: 72.0, C- (17th)

PFSN Quarterback Impact (QBi)
NE: Drake Maye (91.1, A-; 2nd)
SEA: Sam Darnold (78.7, C+; 13th)

PFSN Running Back Impact (RBi) 
NE: Rhamondre Stevenson (54.4, F; 38th)
NE: TreVeyon Henderson (66.9, D; 17th)

SEA: Kenneth Walker III (65.8, D; 20th)
SEA: Zach Charbonnet (54.8, F; 36th) *OUT for Super Bowl*

PFSN Wide Receiver Impact (WRi) 
NE: Stefon Diggs (87.0, B+; 4th)
NE: Kayshon Boutte (81.5, B-; 18th)
NE: DeMario Douglas (79.3, C+; 25th)

SEA: Jaxon Smith-Njigba (94.4, A; 2nd)
SEA: Cooper Kupp (73.2, C; 57th)
SEA: Rashid Shaheed (71.9, C-; 70th)

PFSN Tight End Impact (TEi)
NE: Hunter Henry (82.0, B-; 11th)
SEA: A.J. Barner (77.4, C-77.4; 21st)

PFSN player Offensive Line Impact (OLi)
LT
NE: Will Campbell (75.1, C; 39th )
SEA: Charles Cross (79.1, C+; 24th)

LG
NE: Jared Wilson (69.5, D+; 49th)
SEA: Grey Zabel (77.1, C+; 27th)

C
NE: Garrett Bradbury (80.4, B-; 19th)
SEA: Jalen Sundell (78.6, C+; 24th)

RG
NE: Mike Onwenu (87.0, B+; 5th)
SEA: Anthony Bradford (74.7, C; 36th)

RT
NE: Morgan Moses (85.2, B; 10th)
SEA: Abraham Lucas (82.5, B-; 14th)

DEFENSE

PFSN Defense Impact (DEFi)
NE: 78.2, C+ (12th)
SEA: 88.4, B+ (3rd)

PFSN EDGE Impact (EDGEi)
NE: Harold Landry III (76.3, C; 46th)
NE: K’Lavon Chaisson (76.2, C; 48th)

SEA: DeMarcus Lawrence (81.5, B-; 28th)
SEA: Uchenna Nwosu (74.0, C; 33rd)

PFSN Defensive Tackle Impact (DTi)
NE: Milton Williams (87.9, B+; 5th)
NE: Christian Barmore (78.6, C+; 28th)

SEA: Leonard Williams (84.2, B; 10th)
SEA: Byron Murphy II (81.2, B-; 16th)

PFSN Linebacker Impact (LBi)
NE: Robert Spillane (85.3, B; 17th)
NE: Jack Gibbens (70.4, C-; 52nd)
NE: Christian Elliss (62.7, D-; 70th)

SEA: Ernest Jones (89.9, B+; 4th)
SEA: Drake Thomas (77.9, C+; 33rd)
NE: Christian Elliss (62.7, D; 70th)

PFSN Cornerback Impact (CBi)
NE: Christian Gonzalez (85.7, B; 12th)
NE: Carlton Davis (78.8, C+; 37th)
NE: Marcus Jones (72.0, C-; 80th)

SEA: Tariq Woolen (81.7, B-; 27th)
SEA: Josh Jobe (81.9, B-; 26th)
SEA: Devon Witherspoon (76.2, C; 48th)

PFSN NFL Safety Impact (SAFi)
NE: Jaylinn Hawkins (76.4, C; 32nd)
NE: Craig Woodson (69.7, D+; 66th)

SEA: Julian Love (90.7, A-; 2nd)
SEA: Coby Bryant (84.0, B; 11th)
SEA: Nick Emmanwori (80.2, B-; 20th)

Super Bowl 60 Notes

• New England defeated the No. 1 (DEN), No. 2 (HOU), and No. 8 (LAC) ranked defenses on its way to winning the AFC.
• Seattle defeated the No. 1 (LAR) and No. 5 (SF) ranked offenses on its way to winning the NFC.
• ​The Patriots have allowed just two touchdowns and 26 points while forcing 8 turnovers during the playoffs. However, they have faced the 15th-ranked (DEN), 23rd-ranked (HOU), and 26th-ranked (LAC) offenses during that stretch, and the Broncos were playing with backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
• ​The Seahawks lead the league in third-down defense (32.3%), but they have allowed a 48% conversion rate on fourth down (T-7th). The Patriots rank 9th in third-down conversions allowed (36.9%) and 2nd on fourth down (33.3%).
• ​Seattle’s special teams have the second-best grade of the season with a 90.9 (A-), while New England is 20th (73.9 C-).
• Seattle has scored five special teams touchdowns, as well as blocking one punt and two field goals, while New England has scored three special teams touchdowns and has blocked one field goal.
• The Patriots are one of eight teams to average under 40 net yards per punt. SEA has beaten two of the other seven teams in the last two weeks. NE (2nd; 37.7) and SEA (4th; 38.7) both rank in the top four when it comes to opponent net yards per punt.
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba recorded a WRi score of 85.3 (B) against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game. It ranked 29th among players this season. In Week 12 against the Tennessee Titans, Smith-Njigba had the second-best score of the season with an 89.7 (B+). Only Puka Nacua’s 94.4 (A) WRi against Seattle in Week 16 was better.
• Smith-Njigba had the second-best season-long WRi score (94.4, A), ranking seventh since 2019.
• Stefon Diggs had the fourth-best WRi score in the league after finishing 26th and 27th the last two seasons. Diggs’ score was the 39th best since 2019, and he has four of the top 48 season scores in that time frame.
• ​Drake Maye’s QBi of 97.8 (A+) against the New York Jets in Week 17 was the top individual game PFSN’s Quarterback Impact (QBi) performance over the past 18 seasons. Since 2000, only Peyton Manning’s 99.8 (A+) QBi against the Ravens in 2007 ranks higher in a single game.
• ​Sam Darnold registered five of his top eight career QBi scores this season (94 qualified games). Darnold’s QBi (90.8, A-) in Week 5 against Washington was his career best; it was also the 57th-best score by any quarterback since 2000 (13,999 games).
• ​Mike Vrabel, with two touchdown receptions in Super Bowls, is tied for the seventh most career receiving touchdowns in Super Bowl games. Vrabel, who played over 200 career games as a linebacker, also recorded 10 touchdown catches in the regular season.
• ​Seattle led the NFL with a +191 point differential this season, while New England was third at +170. This Super Bowl matchup marks the fifth time both teams entered with a regular-season point differential of at least +170. The other matchups were Super Bowl 1 (GB-KC), Super Bowl 4 (KC-MIN), Super Bowl 19 (SF-MIA), and Super Bowl 48 (SEA-DEN).
• ​The Seahawks have yet to commit a turnover in the playoffs. Only 11 Super Bowl champions, including last season’s Philadelphia Eagles, have finished the postseason with just one turnover. Seattle is also among 17 teams in the Super Bowl era to play their first two playoff games without a turnover.
• ​The Seahawks’ DEFi score of 95.1 (A) against the Vikings in Week 13 ranked as the 12th-best individual PFSN’s Defense Impact game score across all NFL matchups since 2019 (out of 3,918 games).
• ​In nine Super Bowls with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, the Patriots had a cumulative point differential of +14, including a 10-point victory in their final Super Bowl together.
• ​The Patriots’ 14 regular-season games against teams with a losing record are the most by a team in the Super Bowl. Washington in the strike-shortened 1987 season played 13 of 15 games against losing teams, including ones with replacement players. Seattle played nine such games this season.