GREEN BAY, Wis. -- It’s safe to say the Green Bay Packers got their money’s worth out of James Jones, the veteran wide receiver who came back to his original team last season for a one-year deal with a minimum salary of $870,000 and no bonus money.
On Monday, Jones got word that he would be awarded an extra $251,736 for his efforts last season. It’s part of the NFL’s performance-based pay distribution. Based on his playing-time percentage (65.39 percent of the Packers’ plays) and his minimum salary, Jones got the largest cash award of anyone on the Packers’ roster.
The plan typically benefits players in their first NFL contracts, or minimum-salaried free-agent signings who become major contributors.
Although the bonus based on playing time and salary -- not production -- Jones turned in one of the most surprising seasons in the NFL. Re-signed after Jordy Nelson’s knee injury and after he was cut by both the Raiders and Giants last offseason, he caught 50 passes for a career-high 890 yards and eight touchdowns.
If defensive tackle B.J. Raji -- who announced Monday he was taking a hiatus from the NFL and won’t play in 2016 -- never plays again, his last paycheck will be for $26,158.
All of the Packers’ performance-based pay recipients are listed below. (For comparison’s sake, here’s a link to last year’s payouts.)
James Jones: $251,736
Micah Hyde: $204,231
Corey Linsley: $200,450
David Bakhtiari: $197,264
Richard Rodgers: $184,922
Nate Palmer: $178,031
Joe Thomas: $174,228
Jayrone Elliott: $144,624
Casey Hayward: $144,194
Jake Ryan: $129,384
Davante Adams: $119,465
Quinten Rollins: $116,144
Jeff Janis: $111,364
Chris Banjo: $111,121
John Kuhn: $106,706
Mike Pennel: $100,161
JC Tretter: $100,384
Damarious Randall: $90,685
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix: $89,512
Aaron Ripkowski: $88,705
Demetri Goodson: $75,346
Eddie Lacy: $71,046
Ty Montgomery: $63,059
Don Barclay: $48,170
Justin Perillo: $43,246
Josh Walker: $41,974
James Starks: $40,604
Lane Taylor: $38,798
Datone Jones: $34,310
Bryan Bulaga: $34,293
Jared Abbrederis: $30,332
Mike Neal: $28,974
Mike Daniels: $28,625
Randall Cobb: $27,948
B.J. Raji: $26,158
T.J. Lang: $26,010
Josh Sitton: $24,224
Nick Perry: $22,849
Morgan Burnett: $21,823
Andy Mulumba: $21,595
Letroy Guion: $21,576
Alonzo Harris: $21,573
LaDarius Gunter: $18,616
Tim Masthay: $15,699
Kennard Backman: $14,809
Clay Matthews: $12,789
Sam Shields: $12,511
John Crockett: $10,268
Andrew Quarless: $10,157
Julius Peppers: $9,906
Aaron Rodgers: $8,773
Josh Boyd: $7,923
Sean Richardson: $5,772
Mason Crosby: $5,767
Bruce Gaston: $4,669
Rick Lovato: $4,544
Sam Barrington: $3,996
Scott Tolzien: $1,045
