CHICAGO — Former Chicago Bears and current New York Jets cornerback Nahshon Wright led all NFL players in performance-based pay for the 2025 season.
Wright, who made just over $1.1 million during his lone season with the Bears, earned a $1,441,397 distribution that more than doubled his salary in 2025. He is one of 25 players who earned over $1 million in performance bonuses.
The NFL’s performance-based pay program is a fund used as a supplemental form of compensation based on a comparison of playing time to salary. Players with higher playing time percentages and lower salaries benefit the most from the initiative.
This is the first time in the program’s history that the top 25 earners will each make over $1 million in performance-based pay.
According to the NFL, players have been paid nearly $3.3 billion cumulatively since the inception of the program, which was implemented during the 2002 season as part of the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association, and has been carried forward in three subsequent CBAs.
Wright signed a one-year deal with the Bears in April 2025 and became an integral part of a defense that led the NFL with 33 takeaways. He started 16 regular-season and two playoff games at cornerback for the Bears due to injuries throughout the secondary, including to Pro Bowler Jaylon Johnson, who did not return from until Week 13.
Wright played the third-most snaps on the Bears’ defense (1,041) and logged a 97.02% playing time percentage. He led Chicago in takeaways with five interceptions, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries en route to his first Pro Bowl selection.
Last week, the 2021 third-round draft pick signed a one-year contract with the Jets that is worth up to $5.5 million.
The Jets were the first team since 1933 to not record a single interception over the course of an NFL season.
