Jalen Mills was a seventh-round pick in 2016 yet he ended up playing 65 percent of the Eagles' defensive snaps as a rookie.
So it's no surprise that Mills leads the Eagles in performance-based pay from 2016.
According to documents obtained by CSNPhilly.com, Mills earned an additional $324,112.11 after playing a ton last season. That's significant for Mills, who had a base salary of just $450,000 in 2016.
Only five players in the league made more in performance-based play than Mills: Atlanta's Brian Poole ($371K), Dallas' Dak Prescott ($353K), Dallas' Anthony Brown ($346K), Atlanta's Ricardo Allen ($342K) and New England's David Andrews ($341K).
Eagles middle linebacker Jordan Hicks also made more than $300K ($300,142.56) in performance-based pay.
Performance-based pay is divvied up based on a formula that accounts for playing time and salary. Basically, the more a player plays on a cheap deal, the more he gets. It doesn't reward level of play, rather snaps on the field.
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Every team gets the same amount to divvy up among its players. This year, each team had just under $4 million.
This money gets added to players' salaries from 2016 and does not affect the salary cap.
Mills and Hicks were two of 11 Eagles who made over $100,000 in performance-based pay from 2016:
Jalen Mills: $324,112.11
Jordan Hicks: $300,142.56
Jaylen Watkins: $208,323.45
Trey Burton: $187,966.61
Beau Allen: $184,088.97
Dorial Green-Beckham: $176,659.84
Halapoulivaati Vaitai: $170,296.41
Destiny Vaeao: $126,777.59
Jordan Matthews: $118,756.92
Wendell Smallwood: $110,961.18
Isaac Seumalo: $110,757.40
Chase Daniel, who signed a deal to become the most expensive backup quarterback in the league before 2016, played just six offensive snaps in 2016.
Daniel, cut on Monday, earned an extra $228.12.
