The end of the NFL season is a busy time, so Geoff Ulrich has gathered the most important NFL Player Contract Incentives and Player Milestones to track ahead of Week 18's slate so you don't have to:

We’re all looking at Super Bowl odds, futures markets, injury reports, and awards markets (like the MVP race) to see if there is some value lurking before the season ends. 

Another important situation to monitor for NFL betting and NFL DFS? Player contract incentives.

Breaking Down NFL Player Contract Incentives

If you’re not sure what contract incentives are, or why they’re important, it’s pretty simple.

Some players (often veterans or players coming off of down seasons) will have certain milestones or achievements built into their contract whereby they’ll receive a monetary bonus if they hit that goal.

It gives the players a chance to province their worth (and earn their money) and the teams a way to reward players who produce, without paying up front.

It often goes something like this:

  • Player hits 1,000 receiving yards—receives an extra $100,000
  • Player hits 1,500 receiving yards—receives an extra $250,000 bonus

While not every player is motivated by incentives or even has them in their contract, there are always some big contract incentives that are worth monitoring towards the end of every season—some of which may even determine a player’s role or increase his usage.

With Week 18 typically the big week for looking at incentives, I figured now would be a great time to get a list together where we can monitor some of the biggest incentives out there.

**Below I listed any player with an incentive worth watching, and how far they needed to go to reach that incentive.

**I also listed any player within reach of a potential record.

(So if Player A needs 1,000 yards for a $500,000 bonus and is at 744 yards, I’ll note that he needs 266 yards in his last three games to reach that bonus.)

**One final note, I am not advocating for betting on a player’s over or going “all-in” on them for DFS simply because he needs some sort of arbitrary yardage to reach a bonus. BUT, knowledge is power, and having ready and available milestones to follow as we hit the final weeks is useful information that may be able to provide us with an edge in some spots**

With that out of the way, here are the most vital Contract incentives and player milestones and records to keep an eye on as we head into the Week 17 weekend slate. 

**Final note #2: I will update this article weekly until the season ends.

NFL Player Contract Incentives To Track

Derrick Henry, RB - Ravens

Total of $4M in incentives over two years ($2M per year)

  • 1,500 rushing yards = $500,000
  • 13 total TDs = $500,000
  • 15 total TDs = $500,000
  • 1,000 rushing yards + team wins Super Bowl = $500,000
  • Current: 1,783 yards and 16 TDs

Henry hit all his incentives in the game vs the Texans. He does still have an outside shot at reaching 2,000 rush yards for the second time in his career (2,027-2020) and the Ravens do have something to play for in Week 18 as they can sew up the division with a win. 

Henry hitting 2,000-plus at age 30 would be unheard of, as the current record is held by Barry Sanders who rushed for 2,053 at age 29 in 1997. The Browns are awful so there is an outside shot Henry goes nuts and gets to 2,000 yards again.

Tony Pollard, RB - Titans

$750,000 total incentives (per season)

  • 1,100 rushing yards = $250,000
  • 7 rushing TDs = $200,000
  • 60 receptions = $200,000
  • Pro Bowl (original ballot) = $100,000
  • Current: 1,017 rush yards and 5 rushing TDs, 41 receptions 

Pollard sat out Week 17, but still has a couple of big incentives within reach. 

He only needs 83 rushing yards to hit 1,100 on the year and is just two rushing TDs away from hitting a $200,000 bonus for getting to 7 rushing TDs as well. 

He has another terrific matchup vs the Texans this week who likely won’t be playing their starters the whole game. Additionally, Tyjae Spears suffered a concussion in Week 17 and likely won't play in Week 18.

If Pollard is able to get in even just a little bit of practice time before kickoff, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him play more and potentially even reach one or both of his TD/rushing yards milestones.

J.K. Dobbins, RB - Chargers

$750,000 in total incentives

  • 750 rushing yards = $150,000
  • 900 rushing yards = $150,000
  • 1,050 rushing yards = $150,000
  • 1,200 rushing yards = $150,000
  • Current: 842 rush yards

Thanks to his past injury history, Dobbins had to sign an incentive-laden deal with the Chargers. He was on track to smash most of these out of the water before he got injured but is now left 68 yards behind his next milestone of 900 yards.

Dobbins made a surprise return last week and went for 76 yards vs the Patriots.

It looks like the Chargers are going to play their starters (they’re 5.5-point favorites as of writing vs the Raiders) and just given how well Dobbins has performed this season you have to think the Chargers coaches may want to get him to this milestone.

Again, we don’t know the inner workings of these teams, or if the coaches are even aware of these details, but certainly John Harbaugh is a players' coach in many respects and would likely love to get Dobbins to 900-plus yards this week.

Austin Ekeler, RB - Commanders

$1.5M in incentives each season

  • 500 rushing yards = $125,000
  • 750 rushing yards = $125,000
  • 500 receiving yards = $125,000
  • 650 receiving yards = $125,000
  • 55 catches = $125,000
  • 70 catches = $125,000
  • 8 touchdowns = $125,000
  • 10 touchdowns = $125,000
  • Current: 355 rush yards, 4 TDs, 346 receiving yards, 33 receptions

Ekeler actually has a few more incentives than the ones I listed above but he isn’t going to reach them and likely won’t reach most of the ones I listed above either. He’s been out with a concussion since Week 12 and is on IR.

If he returns for Week 18, he’d need a serious legacy moment to reach 500 rush or receiving yards. It could happen but seems unlikely.

Mike Evans, WR - Buccaneers

2025 escalator for an extra $3M

  • 70 catches, 1,000 REC Yds, 10 TDs = $3M
  • $500,000 per playoff win (w/ 65% regular-season snaps)
  • Current: 65 receptions, 915 yards, 11 TDs
  • Needs: 5 receptions, 85 yards 

Mike Evans had a BIG Week 17 and is now within earshot of hitting all his parameters for this crazy 3M milestone bonus.

First, he does have a $500,000 bonus per playoff win available to him, but it also has a 65% regular-season snap rate attached to it. Since he missed some games I’m not sure if he can technically reach the 65% snap rate (which I assume is tied to all regular season games).

The big one though, and the one worth watching, is the $3M bonus he has for getting to 70 catches, 1,000 receiving yards. and 10 TDs. Just to be clear, he needs to hit all three of those or the $3M doesn’t get paid out. That’s pretty wild.

Update: After going for 8 rec, 97 yards, and 2 TDs in Week 17, Evans now just needs 5 receptions and 85 yards to hit all three of his milestones. The team is also in a must-win spot needing a win over the Saints to ensure they clinch the NFC South over Atlanta, who has the tiebreaker over them with two series wins.

Evans’ prop lines have already opened at 93.5 (8.5 yards above what he needs) on Underdog which offers Pick’Em contest.

You don’t want to bet against Evans and Mayfield combining for enough receptions/yards to hit the milestones Evans needs, but you do need to be mindful of the lines this week if betting on his prop.

A lot of what Evans actually needs has already been baked into these lines and the Buccaneers would love to rest him after he gets the yards and receptions needed.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR - Saints

$2.25M Incentives (over this season)

  • 25 catches: $250K
  • 350 yards: $250K
  • 550 yards: another $250K
  • 3 TDs: $250K
  • 5 TDs: another $250K
  • 7 TDs: another $250K
  • Current 16 receptions, 378 yards and 4 TDs

If you’re wondering why Marquez Valdes-Scantling keeps catching TDs this season, here’s your answer. The man is getting about 125,000 per TD at this rate (assuming he hits the next milestone) and can keep on making that cash if he gets to 7 total TDs. 

Update: Valdes-Scantling missed Week 16 and then got zero receptions in Week 17. He had a ton of momentum but is now stalled at 378 yards and 4 TDs.

He needs one TD for a 250K bonus in Week 18, so I guess fire up your MVS anytime TD bets?

He didn’t look good last week and only saw two targets on 47 snaps played, but I would think rookie QB Spencer Rattler will be made aware of this milestone before the game. 

The MVS anytime TD line will be interesting, to say the least. If it opens at +300 or higher it may be worth a look

Zach Ertz, TE - Commanders

$2M in incentives

  • 60 catches = $250,000
  • 70 catches = $250,000
  • 80 catches = $250,000
  • 600 receiving yards = $250,000
  • 700 receiving yards = $250,000
  • 800 receiving yards = $250,000
  • 6 TDs = $250,000
  • 8 TDs = $250,000
  • Current: 61 receptions, 610 yards, 6 TDs

Zach Ertz bet on himself with his contract this season and it paid off. He had a monster Week 17 and it pushed him through 6 TDs ($250k bonus), 600 yards ($250K bonus), and 60 receptions ($250K bonus). 

The problem for Week 18 is that he would now need another monster week to hit the next level of milestones. Maybe another two-TD day is in store for Ertz, who needs two more TDs to get to eight on the season and trigger another 250K bonus.

NFL Player Milestones and Records To Track

Saquon Barkley, RB - Eagles

Most Rushing Yards in a season

  • Current: 2,005 rushing yards
  • Record: 2,105 yards, Eric Dickerson 1984
  • Needs: 101 rush yards

Outside of bonuses for the Eagles winning the Super Bowl or the Conference, Barkley’s contract incentives have all been met after last week. 

However, he is also chasing some history as he has Eric Dickerson’s all-time rushing record within his sites. After rushing for 167 yards vs the Cowboys in Week 17, Barkley needs just 101 rushing yards to set the all-time rushing record for most rush yards in an NFL season.

This may not be that big a deal to some, since Dickerson set his record in a 16-game season, but it’s a huge achievement nonetheless and certainly an honor that would immortalize Barkley among the all-time greats at his position.

As of writing, the Eagles are currently having internal discussions on how to approach Barkley’s usage for Week 18. The game means nothing for them in the standings so obviously they would prefer to rest their star player. However, this is a huge milestone that is well within reach and the organization assuredly wants to do right by its player.

If Barkley gets the go-ahead to play you can expect the Eagles to get him the ball a ton in the first half (regardless of game flow) and attempt to get the record over with by halftime.

If the Giants defense stiffens up then you may see the Eagles pull the plug at some point and take Barkley out to preserve him for the playoffs.

One thing is for sure, Barkley setting the all-time rushing record for most yards in a season vs the Giants would be fitting. The Giants' decision to let Barkley walk to the rival Eagles, so they could pay Daniel Jones just over a year ago, may go down as one of the worst blunders in NFL history.

Brock Bowers, TE - Raiders

Rookie receiving records/leader

  • Current: 108 receptions 
  • Record: 105 receptions (Puka Nacua; 2024)
  • Needs: Achieved (but Nabers at 104 can catch him)
     
  • Current: 1,144 yards
  • TE Record: 1,076 yards (Mike Ditka, 1961)
  • Overall Record: 1,486 yards (Puka Nacua, 2023)
  • Needs: achieved

Bowers achieved two records in his last game. He set the rookie record for receiving yards by a TE, breaking Mike Ditka’s longstanding record from 1961. He also broke Puka Nacua’s rookie reception record from 2023. 

He’s too far away to catch Nacua’s overall rookie yardage record but he’ll likely still want to be busy in Week 18 as he now has Malik Nabers breathing down his neck for most catches by a rookie in a season. 

Nabers is now at 104 receptions after his massive Week 17, only four back of Bowers.

Bowers can also potentially catch Brian Thomas for most rookie receiving yards in 2024. BTJ currently sits at 1,179 yards while Bowers is 35 yards behind. Malik Nabers is also in the mix just 39 yards behind the Jaguars WR.

I expect all three men to be busy in Week 18 as their team tries to get them another accolade for their outstanding seasons.

Malik Nabers, WR - Giants

Rookie Receiving leaders/records

  • Current: 104 receptions 
  • Record: 108 receptions (Bowers; 2024)
  • Needs: 4+ (Bowers will play Week 18)

Don’t look now but Malik Nabers can potentially steal some of the thunder away from Brock Bowers, who has dominated the rookie headlines this year (along with Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix). 

Nabers is now only four receptions behind Bowers, who currently owns the rookie record for most receptions at 108. Nabers has been targeted relentlessly by Drew Lock the past two weeks and faces an Eagles team likely to rest some starters.

I expect Lock/Nabers to go after the record early in this spot and push Bowers.

Brian Thomas, WR - Jaguars

Rookie Receiving yards leader

Let’s not leave out Brian Thomas, who has had a terrific season to date. He currently leads all rookie receivers with 1,179 yards on the season, despite catching significantly fewer passes than Bowers or Nabers. 

The Jaguars would likely love for Thomas to remain atop the rookie leaderboard so I would expect he’ll get plenty of targets once again in Week 18. 

Who Is Chasing 1,000 Yards In Week 18?

Below, I highlighted a group of receivers and RBs who are within reach of the elusive 1,000-yard milestone (and also likely to get a decent workload in Week 18). It’s often a good barometer for players who are trying to negotiate contracts and up their worth in the open market later on.

Rushing Yards 

Receiving Yards

Looking for more edges in the betting streets? Check out our player prop projections that highlight the biggest edges on the Week 17 slate!

Week 17 Player Prop Projections