If you need another wake-up call as to just how much money professional sports teams give their players for completing fairly standard tasks, here you go.
Muhammad Wilkerson, newly-minted defensive end for the Packers, made $1 million just for showing up to the start of training camp this season.
Yeah, you heard that right.
Speaking of reporting: on Wednesday, Packers DL Muhammad Wilkerson earned a $1M reporting bonus for being present to start Green Bay's training camp, the largest such bonus in the NFL this year. https://t.co/KgswhO6Wvl
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 26, 2018
Granted, Wilkerson is at least a former stud defensive lineman. He proved his worth over seven seasons with the New York Jets, racking up 44.5 sacks and 11 forced fumbles while making the Pro Bowl once.
And yes, Wilkerson received a $1 million reporting bonus, but his contract with the Packers is overall quite underwhelming.
Wish I got a bonus just to show up to work
— Drew Hannis (@DrewHannis) July 26, 2018
Wilkerson was signed to a one-year deal which pays him just around $5 million. That’s really not very much. It’s a prove-it deal, because Wilkerson seems to be on the downward trend of his tenure in the league.
The defensive end’s production has dipped in the last two years, and, at 28, he is not getting any younger. Thus, the team decided that he really wasn’t worth too much money, but threw in an incentive for being early to the party.
I must say; that is one hefty incentive to show up to camp.
— Jason Dinaro ₿ (@neverEnough32) July 26, 2018
Who knows? Maybe Green Bay and Wilkerson just wanted to make headlines with this story.
I doubt the Pack were actually that worried he would miss camp, though emerging from the cesspool that is Jets camp, you can never be too careful.
