For Green Bay Packers guard Sean Rhyan, the financial ramifications are severe. This comes after a history of failing to meet playing time thresholds during his first three seasons in the NFL. In 2023, he played just 183 combined snaps at both right and left guards. That only represented 16.7% of the maximum possible 1,096 plays. His lack of participation cost him a raise of over $2 million. He did not reach the 35% playing time threshold set forth by the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement.
As Rhyan heads into the 2024 season, he will look to be in the mix for a starting job at right guard. His agent Cameron Foster told ESPN that the financial impact of Rhyan’s lack of playing time was “extremely disappointing.” According to Foster, had Rhyan participated in two more plays across his first three seasons—he would have qualified for the “proven performance escalator,” which would have significantly increased his base salary for the 2025 season.
In his rookie 2024 season, Rhyan played 1,146 snaps total – only 35.003% of the 3,272 possible snaps – due to consistently nagging injuries. Differences in official snap counts raised confusion over whether he hit the required minimum threshold. Foster noted,
“We had him at 35% of snaps exactly.” – Cameron Foster
And when the NFL and the NFL Players Association recently evaluated Rhyan’s performance, they deemed it just shy of the passing mark. The escalator is based on market performance, not internal competition. Foster added,
“However, the NFL and NFLPA both had him just under. So, per the Packers they are not giving him the escalator. We are pretty disappointed about it for sure.” – Cameron Foster
Rhyan’s first season in 2022 was rough. He played in only one game and didn’t see a single offensive snap. His circumstances were further complicated after the announcement of a six-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy. This decision resulted in a jaw-dropping cut of $235,000 from his already modest base salary.
Despite these setbacks, Rhyan showed improvement in the 2023 season, starting for the first time and logging 961 snaps of a possible 1,082 offensive plays—an impressive 88.8%. He played full-time except for eight snaps in the second quarter of a Week 14 game against Detroit when fellow guard Jordan Morgan sustained a season-ending shoulder injury.
Over the last three seasons (2022-24), Rhyan has stepped on the field for 1,144 offensive snaps. That’s more than a third—34.952%—of the 3,272 total possible plays. These numbers paint a picture of his difficulty in hitting the stringent performance benchmarks that would have changed his pay trajectory by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Rhyan’s initial rookie level contract was a four-year $5.12 million pact that included a $905,712 signing bonus. Had he attained the escalator estipulation, his minimum 2025 salary would have increased to $3.406 million. Rather, it will remain at $1.363 million as it is currently constituted under his agreement.
Despite this adversity, Rhyan earned extra compensation under the NFL’s performance-based pay program in March, of $697,006. As for the upcoming season, Rhyan’s primary focus is pretty simple — earn a starting spot. In addition, he’ll need to increase his percentage of playing time in order to take advantage of large financial incentives further on in his contract.
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