NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement

Article 37
Postseason Pay


  • Section 1. System

    A four-tiered (“wild card” game, division playoff game, conference championship and Super Bowl game) play-off system will be used and continued throughout the term of this Agreement. Any player on a Club that has earned a first-round bye will be paid an amount equal to the amount received by players on a non-Division Winner participating in a “wild card” game for that Club’s bye week, provided such player is on the Club’s 53-player Active/Inactive List or the Club’s Reserve/Injured List as of the Sunday immediately preceding such Club’s Division Play-off game.

  • Section 2. Compensation

    A player who qualifies will receive the following amount for each postseason game played:

    (in $000’s) 20202021202220232024202520262027202820292030
    Wild Card
    Div. Winner $33.00$42.50$46.50$50.50$54.50$58.50$64.50$70.50$76.50$82.50$88.50
    (Other or First-Round Bye)$30.00$37.50$41.50$45.50$49.50$53.50$59.50$65.50$71.50$77.50$83.50
    Div. Playoff$33.00$42.50$46.50$50.50$54.50$58.50$64.50$70.50$76.50$82.50$88.50
    Conf. Champ. $59.00$65.00$69.00$73.00$77.00$81.00$87.00$93.00$99.00$105.00$111.00
    Super Bowl
    (Winning Team)$130.00$150.00$157.00$164.00$171.00$178.00$188.00$198.00$208.00$218.00$228.00
    (Losing Team) $65.00$75.00$82.00$89.00$96.00$103.00$113.00$123.00$133.00$143.00$153.00

  • Section 3. Wild Card Game; Division Play-off Game

    A player who is on the Active List, Inactive List, or Injured Reserve List of a Club at the time of the game in question will be paid the full amount designated in Section 2 above for that game.

  • Section 4. Conference Championship; Super Bowl Game
    (a)

    A player who at the time of the game in question is and has been on the Active List or Inactive List of a Club participating in the game for at least three previous games (i.e., regular or postseason) will receive the full amount designated in Section 2 for such game.

    (b)

    A player who at the time of the game in question is and has been on the Active List or Inactive List of a Club participating in the game for less than three previous games (i.e., regular or postseason) will receive one-half the amount designated in Section 2 for such game.

    (c)

    A player who at the time of the game in question is not on the Active List or Inactive List of a Club participating in the game but was on the Active or Inactive List for eight or more games (i.e., regular or postseason) will receive the full amount designated in Section 2 for such game provided he is not under contract to another Club in the same Conference at the time of the game in question.

    (d)

    A player who at the time of the game in question is not on the Active List or Inactive List of a Club participating in the game, but who was on the Club’s Active List or Inactive List for at least three and not more than seven games (i.e., regular and postseason) will receive one-half the amount designated in Section 2 for such game, provided he is not under contract to another Club in the same Conference at the time of the game in question.

    (e)

    A veteran player injured during the regular season and removed from the Active List or Inactive List of a Club participating in the game in question for reason of injury will receive the full amount designated in Section 2 for such game provided he is still under contract to the Club at the time of the game.

    (f)

    If a first-year player is injured during the regular season and, as a result, is removed from the Active List or Inactive List of a Club participating in the game in question, he will receive one-half (½) the amount designated in Section 2 above for such game, provided that he is still under contract to the Club at the time of the game and had signed an NFL Player Contract or Practice Squad Contract during a prior League Year.

    (g)

    If a veteran player who completed the season in which his fourth year or more of Credited Service under the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan was earned is injured during the preseason and, as a result, is removed from the Active List or Inactive List of a Club participating in the game in question, he will receive the full amount designated in Section 2 for such game provided that he is still under contract to the Club at the time of the game.

    (h)

    If a veteran player who has not completed the season in which his fourth year of Credited Service under the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan has been earned is injured during the preseason and, as a result, is removed from the Active List or Inactive List of a Club participating in the game in question, he will receive onehalf (½) the amount designated in Section 2 for such game provided that he is still under contract to the Club at the time of the game.

    (i)

    If a first-year player is injured during the preseason and, as a result, is removed from the Active List or Inactive List of a Club participating in the game in question, he will receive one-quarter (¼) of the amount designated in Section 2 above for such game provided that he is still under contract to the Club at the time of the game and; (A) he was on that Club’s Practice Squad for eight or more games in a prior League Year; or (B) he received at least one, but fewer than three, regular season game checks while on that Club’s Active or Inactive or Reserve Injured list during a prior League Year.

    (j)

    The definitions of “veteran player” and “first-year player” set forth in Article 23, Section 1 shall apply to Subsections (e)–(i) above. A player who has not signed an NFL Player Contract or NFL Practice Squad Contract during a previous NFL season is not entitled to postseason pay under Subsections (e)–(i) above.

  • Section 5. Payment

    Players will be paid under this Article within fifteen (15) days after the game in question has been played.