ARTICLE XXXVIII-B
PERFORMANCE-BASED POOL
Section 1. Creation Of Fund: In each Capped Year, the NFL shall create a fund known as the Performance Based Pool that will be deducted from the calculation of the Salary Cap in the same manner as any other player benefit.
Section 2. Amount of Fund: For the 2006 League Year, the fund shall be $3 million per Club ($96 million League-wide). The fund will increase in each subsequent Capped Year by 5% unless otherwise agreed by the parties; provided, however, that the NFLPA has the unilateral right to reduce or freeze the amount of the fund pursuant to Article XLVI, Section 1.
Section 3. Mandatory Distribution Each Year: There shall be mandatory distribution to players of the entire fund each year.
Section 4. Qualifying Players: A player shall be eligible for participation in the Performance Based Pool for a League Year if he plays for at least one down in any regular season game. A player may receive multiple distributions if he qualifies for more than one Club in a single League Year.
Section 5. Methodology:
(a) Each player’s “Playtime Percentage” shall be calculated by (i) adding the player’s total plays on offense or defense, as appropriate, plus special teams and (ii) dividing that number by the team’s total plays on offense or defense, as appropriate, plus special teams;
(b) Each player’s “PBP Compensation” shall be calculated by adding his full regular season Paragraph 5 Salary, prorated signing bonus for the current League Year (plus any signing bonus acceleration (without regard to the June 1 rule) due to his having been released during the applicable League Year, unless the player is resigned by his old Club without having missed a week of the regular season), earned incentives, and other compensation for the current League Year, subject to the following provisions:
(i) For all players other than those who receive the Minimum Salary Benefit, the full regular season Paragraph 5 Salary shall be used;
(ii) For players who were released and later resigned by the same Club during the regular season, the Paragraph 5 Salary from the player’s initial contract shall be used for the period ending with the player’s release, and the Paragraph 5 Salary from the player’s subsequent contract shall be used for the period from release through the term of the subsequent contract;
(iii) For players who receive the Minimum Salary Benefit, the Paragraph 5 Minimum Salary amount for a player with two Credited Seasons, rather than the stated Paragraph 5 Salary, shall be used to calculate the player’s PBP Compensation;
(iv) If a Player Contract is renegotiated after the Monday of the tenth week of the regular season to include an unearned incentive for the current League Year that is treated as signing bonus, such incentive shall not be counted in the calculation of PBP Compensation; and
(v) If a portion of the Player’s Paragraph 5 Salary is treated as a signing bonus, the full Paragraph 5 Salary (rather than the current year’s proration) will be counted; all other amounts treated as signing bonus will be included on a prorated basis except for unearned incentives, as described in Subsection (iv) above.
(c) Each player’s “PBP Index” shall be calculated by dividing the player’s Playtime Percentage by his PBP Compensation;
(d) Each player shall receive an allocation from the fund determined by (i) dividing his PBP Index by the sum of the PBP Indices for each player on the Club and then (ii) multiplying that percentage by the Club’s total PBP allocation.
Section 6. Corrections: If, after the fund has been distributed to players for any given League Year, a player demonstrates that his payment was miscalculated and should have been greater, he shall promptly be paid the additional Performance-Based Pay to which he is entitled, and said amount shall be deducted from the Club’s actual PBP allocation for the following League Year.