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Seattle Seahawks underrated linebacker Drake Thomas received a pay bump in the NFL’s performance-based pay system.
Every snap counts in the NFL. During the 2025 season, that was true in more ways than one for Seattle Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas.
On Monday, the NFL announced its top 25 performance-based payouts from the 2025 season. The system is in place to reward players with low salaries who played high snap counts during the previous season.
Through the system, Thomas received one of the top 25 payouts for the 2025 season. The linebacker received about an additional $1.022 million.
The NFL announced their top 25 performance-based payouts, with former #Bears CB Nahshon Wright leading the way.
Performance-based pay is a system the league has in place for players for players with high snap counts and low salaries.
According to Spotrac, that nearly matched his entire pay from last season. In his third NFL season, Thomas made roughly $1.039 million in 2025.
The 26-year-old almost doubled his pay thanks to starting 14 games for the Seahawks elite 2025 defense. After playing just 41 defensive snaps for Seattle in 2023 and 2024 combined, Thomas lined up for 763 defensive snaps last season.
With the enormous jump in playing time, Thomas had 96 combined tackles, including 10 tackles for loss. He also registered six quarterback hits, eight pass defenses and one interception.
Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb
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