With a win Sunday night in Detroit, the Vikings would get a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. Additionally, they could pay out up to $3.65 million to four players with strong chances to hit performance incentives.
Byron Murphy Jr., Stephon Gilmore, Josh Metellus and Blake Cashman have strong chances to reach incentives in their contracts that would pay them bonuses for this season. Incentives usually are written into veteran player contracts; since the Vikings’ fourth-ranked defense is filled with midpriced veterans, they’re in line to pay for performance.
Murphy already hit a $250,000 incentive for his Pro Bowl selection, while Metellus made $100,000 for his two interceptions this year. Both players are in line to hit six-figure playing time incentives tonight.
Here is a rundown of the Vikings’ incentives, and a look at which players could hit them in the regular-season finale.
What he needs: Since O’Neill has played right tackle all season, he won’t earn the incentive this year.