Back in March, the Kansas City Chiefs added former San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Charles Omenihu on a two-year deal worth up to $20 million. We later learned that the “up to” in his contract included $4 million in incentives, leaving him with a two-year contract worth $16 million at its base value.
The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov recently did a deep dive into the money that players around the NFL can earn via incentives in the 2023 NFL season. Omenihu’s package of incentives in 2023 and 2024 both include the following structure with up to $2 million in total incentives each year.
- If Omenihu plays 65% of the defensive snaps in 2023, he’ll receive $500K in incentives.
- If Omenihu plays 65% of the defensive snaps in 2023 AND the team reaches the playoffs, he’ll receive $1M in incentives.
- If Omenihu plays 65% of the defensive snaps in 2023 AND the team reaches the AFC Championship Game, he’ll receive $1.5M in incentives.
- If Omenihu plays 65% of the defensive snaps in 2023 AND the team wins the Super Bowl, he’ll receive $2M in incentives.
The playoff-related incentives are a good bet given the team’s recent history. Omenihu is certainly confident in his ability to carve out a large role on defense in Kansas City. Last season, Chris Jones was the only defensive lineman for the Chiefs to play more than 65% of the team’s defensive snaps (just under 80%). Omenihu has never played more than 54% of a team’s defensive snaps in a given season in the NFL.
