GREEN BAY, Wis. -- No, Mike Daniels did not get a contract extension -- that could be forthcoming, though -- but the Green Bay Packers defensive tackle did get a pay raise.
According to NFL Players Association salary records, Daniels' salary for next season has been bumped to $1.574 million from $660,000. That's the last year of his rookie contract.
The increase was part of the rookie wage scale added to the collective bargaining agreement that was negotiated in 2011. Players drafted in Rounds 3-7 can receive what's called a "proven performance escalator" by playing at least 35 percent of the offensive or defensive snaps in two of their first three seasons.
Daniels, a fourth-round pick in 2012, easily exceeded that each of the past two seasons, playing 62.4 percent of the snaps this season and 48.6 percent last year.
He's the only member of the Packers' 2012 draft class to be eligible for that escalator. The Packers did not pick in the third round in that draft and none of their other picks from the fourth round or later remain on the roster.
Daniels had his best season in 2014. He tied for sixth among all NFL defensive tackles in sacks (6.5), which was the most by a Packers defensive tackle since B.J. Raji posted the same total in 2010.
The Packers have other contracts to address first, especially players like Randall Cobb and Bryan Bulaga since they are scheduled to become free agents in March, but Daniels is exactly the kind of home-grown, ascending player that general manager Ted Thompson typically likes to extend.
