2023-24 NFL Contract Incentives and Player Milestones to Know for Week 18

Modern NFL contracts are loaded with incentives. They not only benefit the players but also the organizations as certain incentives don’t count against the cap. And Week 18 of the NFL regular season is the last game to hit them before the 2023-24 NFL PLayoffs. These incentives can present a rare opportunity for us when it comes to NFL DFS contests and for NFL betting picks. But it’s not just the contracts that matter to some players and teams. There are also records and milestones at stake that could influence how teams operate. Here is a clear-cut example from 2017 involving Todd Gurley, Kareem Hunt, and the NFL rushing title.
Perhaps this year Sean McVay will be a little more cognizant of that with his rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua being four catches and 29 yards away from breaking a couple of rookie records. Or maybe they just don’t care and are worried about the playoffs. It’s a tricky line to balance but we’re going to take a look at what is on the line for Week 18 and how we might be able to take advantage.
Quarterback Contract Incentives and Milestones for NFL Week 18
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Love can hit a $500K bonus if the Green Bay Packers make the playoffs. Win this week and they are in, lose and they are out.
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
Geno Smith has even more on the line - $2 million if the Seahawks make the playoffs. They need to win and they need the Packers to lose so only one of Love or Geno will get their money.
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baker has several different incentives he can hit. The short and sweet is that he gets $1 million if the Bucs make the playoffs and an extra $300K if he finishes top 10 or NFC Top 5 in any of the categories:
- Pass TDs (currently tied for 4th in both the NFL and NFC)
- Passing Yards (currently 8th in NFL, 5th in NFC)
- Passer Rating (currently in 9th in NFL, 5th in NFC)
- Yards Per Pass Attempt (currently 9th in NFL, 6th in NFC)
- Completion Percentage (currently 18th in NFL, 10th in NFC)
Running Back Contract Incentives and Milestones for NFL Week 18
Devin Singletary, Houston Texans
He has a $125K bonus for 1,000 rushing yards (currently at 835). That 165 yards seems like a lot but he also has two more manageable bonuses. He already hit one $125K “yards from scrimmage” bonus at 1,000 yards and needs 74 for another at 1,100. He can also get another $125K if he plays 55% of the snaps on the season and he sits at 53%. His typical usage over the last couple of weeks would get him there.
Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers
This one has multiple components to it. For the incentives to hit, the Chargers must be outside the bottom five in league average net yards gained per rushing play (they are JUST inside of that at 27th). He has incentives at 1,125 scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns for an extra $100K and $150K respectively. The touchdowns would be tough because he has six but he’s at 965 scrimmage yards so a huge day could do it.
Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings
Unfortunately, Ty Chandler seems to have taken over the job. But maybe the team helps Mattison out here. He gets an extra $250K at 750 yards rushing and he’s sitting at 659.
Rookie Rushers
A couple of rookie running backs are close to cracking the coveted 1,000-yard make for their first season. Bijan Robinson needs 52 yards and Jahmyr Gibbs needs 85. If Bijan has 88 rushing yards, that would also break Tyler Allgeier’s rookie franchise record. De’Von Achane needs 64 scrimmage yards to reach 1,000 yards from scrimmage.
Wide Receiver Contract Incentives and Milestones for NFL Week 18
DeAndre Hopkins, Tennessee Titans
The contract Hopkins signed was heavy with incentives. I’ll break these down in terms of what would need to happen this week to get there.
- 11 yards this week = $250K
- 61 yards this week = $250K
- 4 receptions this week = $250K
- 14 receptions this week = $250K
- 2 touchdowns this week = $250K
Odell Beckham., Baltimore Ravens
Odell probably won’t hit his receiving yard number of 750 unless he has a MONSTER 218+ yard day. That would land him $750K. He would also get $500K with a two-touchdown day. More reasonable are the following receptions:
- 6 receptions this week = $500K
- 16 receptions this week = $750K
Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
The winner of this game wins the AFC East so the focus will obviously be on that. But Tyreek Hill needs 247 yards to break Calvin Johnson’s record that he set his eyes on. If he hadn’t gotten hurt and missed a game, this one might have been in the bag. It also speaks to how insane of a season Calvin Johnson had.
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Evans has already hit his 1,000-yard milestone but he also has 13 touchdowns. His career high (which is also the single-season Buccaneers record) is 14.
Rookie WR Milestones
Puka Nacua could set a record for rookie catches if he has four this week and for rookie receiving yards if he has 29 this week. First-year standout Rashee Rice is 62 yards away from a 1,000-yard season. Zay Flowers is 142 yards away from 1,000 receiving yards and 86 yards away from 1,000 yards from scrimmage as a rookie.
Tight End Contract Incentives and Milestones for NFL Week 18
Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Dalton Schultz needs six receptions to earn a $250K bonus this week. He would also earn another $250K with 107 receiving yards.
Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
Lions tight end Sam LaPorta is currently tied with Keith Jackson for most receptions by a rookie, so one catch would give him sole possession of the record. He’s also 140 yards from a 1,000-yard season and 216 yards away from the all-time rookie tight end record set by Mike Ditka.
Player News
Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is working out with six Steelers pass-catchers in Malibu prior to training camp.
Rodgers did not sign with the Steelers until late in the offseason, leaving him little time to build chemistry with the team’s receivers through offseason workouts. However, Rodgers posted a photo on social media with WRs DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin, Roman Wilson, Scotty Miller, and Ben Skowronek and TE Pat Freiermuth. He had invited offensive skill players to work out with him and these six have taken up the offer thus far. Metcalf and Freiermuth are likely to be two of the top options in the Steelers offense, with Austin and Wilson mixing in behind. Newly acquired Jonnu Smith is not there, though he just joined the team this week. Rodgers is headed for a final season in Pittsburgh and is looking to build further rapport with his pass-catchers for one last hurrah.
The Athletic’s Chad Graff believes Patriots WR Efton Chism will “enter camp with a decent shot at making the team.”
A UDFA from Eastern Washington, Chism has been singled out by Drake Maye and coach Mike Vrabel for his impressive showing during the early offseason sessions. Chism put up videogame numbers in the Eagles’ high-flying passing attack last year, totaling 120 catches for 1,311 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2024. Despite the gaudy counting stats, Chism’s 5'10/195 build combined with a dreadful 4.71 Forty led to all 32 teams passing on him during the draft. He will likely be parked behind Demario Douglas as a rookie, but Chism could be worth a look in deep dynasty leagues if he makes noise during training camp.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley believes Ravens WR Devontez Walker “was Baltimore’s most consistent wide receiver during spring practices.”
Hensley called the second-year wideout “the front-runner to be Baltimore’s No. 4 wide receiver” job. It’s not much, but that would be a drastic improvement over the role Walker played as a rookie. He appeared in nine games and caught one pass, a 21-yard score in Week 15. A fourth-round pick in 2024, Walker was drafted as a developmental vertical threat and simply wasn’t ready to take on a meaningful role as a rookie. Coaches and reporters have talked him up this offseason, allowing dynasty managers to leave the light on for him in 2025.
Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said rookie RB Bhayshul Tuten needs to improve in pass protection.
It’s hardly surprising to hear a head coach urge a rookie back to get better as a blocker. Pass protection is usually a roadblock to consistent snaps for rookie runners. “From protection systems in college to the pros, that’s usually where you see some of the tempo slow down for them – playing slower, thinking more – is when pass-pro starts to kind of bog the mind,” Coen said. “I think [Tuten] has done a solid job. I know he needs a lot more work, which all those guys do.” The 104th selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, Tuten racked up 1,159 yards and 15 touchdowns on 183 attempts in his final collegiate season at Virginia Tech. He also functioned as a kicker return, a role he could experiment with in Jacksonville this summer. PFF graded Tuten in 2024 as the nation’s 98th best blocking back out of 148 qualifying backs. He’ll need to improve in that area if he’s going to seize the RB1 role in the Jaguars backfield in 2025.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports TE Darren Waller told the Giants he “wanted to play again specifically only for Miami.”
Waller, 32, came out of retirement Tuesday and was immediately traded to the Dolphins in exchange for draft-pick compensation. Waller joins one of the NFL’s thinnest tight end depth charts, alongside Pharaoh Brown, Jalin Conyers, and Julian Hill. None of those players will threaten Waller’s role as the team’s primary pass-catching tight end. A seam-stretcher for most of his NFL career, Waller will bring something very different to the Miami offense than what they had with YAC machine Jonnu Smith. Waller, who had 52 grabs on 70 targets for the Giants in 2023, should be the No. 3 target behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
WKBW reports Bills CB Maxwell Hairston is being sued for sexual assault.
The lawsuit against Hairston claims he assaulted a woman at the University of Kentucky in 2021 — an incident that was reported to authorities before the woman transferred out of the university. Buffalo selected Hairston with the 30th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Bills did not comment on the lawsuit. When asked about allegations of Hairston’s involvement in a campus sexual assault, Bills general manager Brandon Beans said the “organization felt the matter was thoroughly investigated and felt there was no truth behind the allegations,” according to WKBW. Beans said of the sexual assault allegations against Hairston: “There doesn’t seem to be anything there.” Hairston is iffy for Bills training camp with a hamstring issue.