Will Fries and Rodney Thomas among highest earners in performance pay distributions

Guard Will Fries and safety Rodney Thomas ranked in the top 25 of all NFL players from the 2023 season in performance based pay distributions.

Fries received $810,961, the 12-highest pay out, and Thomas received $769,445, the 18th-most.

In short, performance based pay distributions began with the 2002 Collective Bargaining Agreement and created a fund to pay additional dollars to players playing on a smaller deal but who also saw extensive playing time.

For the 2023 season, that pool of money totaled $393.8 million and is distributed equally among the 32 teams.

Every player who sees playing time is eligible for this program, but salary and playing time are the two key factors in determining who gets an actual payout. You can read more about how pay is determined here, but in short, a lower salary coupled with a high amount of snaps means more opportunity for a player to collect from this program.

Fries would play 1,125 snaps at right guard for the Colts last season. According to PFF, he would allow four sacks and 30 pressures. He would rank 20th among all guards in pass-blocking efficiency and 30th out of 54 guards in run-blocking grade.

As a collective offensive line unit, the Colts ranked sixth in pass-blocking efficiency and 10th in yards per rush with 4.3.

Thomas would play 962 defensive snaps for the Colts in 2023, with the bulk of them coming at free safety. Overall, he made 33 of his 43 tackle attempts and held opponents to 12 receptions on 20 targets but did surrender over 21 yards per catch. Thomas would come away with two interceptions and two pass breakups.

Presumably, Thomas will be competing this summer with Nick Cross for the starting free safety role. The safety position remains a big need that the Colts still have to address as they look to cut down on the number of explosive plays allowed.

These performance based distribution payments to the players do not count towards the Colts’ salary cap and are instead considered a benefit.