The superstars with the blockbuster contracts are expected to be heavy-duty contributors on the field. But what happens when a role-player with a relatively meager financial contract gets thrust into the spotlight and ends up being a fixture for his team?
That’s where the NFL’s Performance-Based Pay Program comes in. First put into place in 2002 by the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the system pools money and then doles it out to players based on a mathematical formula that factors in playing time and salary levels. The result is a bonus given to players who, essentially, end up playing more than their paycheck might have suggested they would.
Guys with high playing-time percentages and low salaries can really rake it in. Chicago cornerback Nahshon Wright, a third-round draft pick of the Cowboys back in 2021, played in 97% of the Bears’ defensive snaps while on an inexpensive one-year contract with the team. His regular earnings totaled just $1.1 million, but his performance-based bonus? Another $1.44 million, more than doubling his salary.
Leaguewide, the top 25 earners each got over $1 million in performance-based pay. Nobody in the Dallas locker room reached that threshold. Per Todd Archer of ESPN, here’s a look at the Cowboys’ top 10 bonus earners for 2025.
LB Shemar James: $764,652
The fifth-rounder out of Florida played 544 defensive snaps as a rookie, nearly half of all the unit’s snaps in 2025. He made the most of his chances, leading all Cowboys in tackles, with 91. James added another 181 snaps on special teams over the season.
C Cooper Beebe: $728,692
Beebe missed six games with an ankle injury but still managed 767 offensive snaps. That’s down from his rookie season, when he was on the field for all but 10 of the offense’s snaps. His performance bonus represents 68% of his 2025 base salary.
CB Reddy Steward: $686,457
With personnel issues at cornerback all season, Steward was called on often. He took 519 defensive snaps, nearly 100 more than Trevon Diggs. Steward finished the season fifth on the team in tackles and has been tendered by the club as an exclusive rights free agent.
OL Brock Hoffman: $646,213
Hoffman got 474 snaps in with the Cowboys offense, most of them during Beebe’s absence in September and October. He’s been left unprotected by Dallas in free agency and is still on the market, despite an early erroneous report that he had signed with Pittsburgh.
WR Ryan Flournoy: $645,753
Flournoy enjoyed a breakout year in Dallas. His 40 catches, 56 targets, and 475 receiving yards were fourth teamwide, and his four touchdowns even topped CeeDee Lamb. He played 479 offensive snaps, 40% of the team’s year-long total, and got in another 133 on special teams.
TE Brevyn Spann-Ford: $616,704
Spann-Ford was on the field for 300 offensive snaps, almost exactly the same as in the 2024 season. But the Minnesota tight end played another 243 snaps on special teams in 2025, more than doubling his usage from the year before with that unit.
DE James Houston: $558,181
Houston finished second on the team in sacks, with 5.5. That he did so on just 307 defensive snaps is impressive. The ex-Lion and -Brown added another 180 special teams snaps. He is set to return in 2026 on the second year of a two-year deal.
LB Marist Liufau: $539,506
In 2025, Liufau was second only to C.J. Goodwin in special teams snaps, with 361, or 74.6% of that unit’s action. He added another 202 defensively, playing in every game of the entire season and logging between two and 29 snaps on defense.
TE Luke Schoonmaker: $530,975
The former second-round draft pick was on the field for 391 of the offense’s snaps in 2025, or just under one-third. But on special teams, that percentage rose to almost 50%.
OL T.J. Bass: $499,897
Bass played every single offensive snap in Weeks 4 through 6 at right guard and then again at left guard in Weeks 16 and 17. That made up most of his 351 offensive snaps for the season. He added another 88 on special teams. The Cowboys placed a second-round tender on Bass this offseason.
Todd is on X at @ToddBrock24f7. Also, follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys Flournoy, Beebe among team’s top 10 in performance-based pay
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