The NFL’s Cheapest Stars: Which Pro Bowlers Earned the Least per Snap?

Wednesday, March 09, 2016

GoLocalWorcester Sports Team & Graphiq

After reviewing the NFL’s most expensive players on a per-snap basis, it’s time to consider the other side of the coin. However, instead of simply identifying the cheapest labor in the league, PointAfter calculated the 10 most cost-efficient Pro Bowlers. Every player highlighted was invited to Hawaii in January—a well-deserved reward for guys who earned less than $1,000 per play in 2015.

All players in this group should be applauded for the immense value they provided their teams on minimal salaries while risking their long-term physical well-being. Ask yourself: would you accept a three-digit per-play paycheck for regularly absorbing crushing contact from hulking NFL players?

Well, these guys did last year, and their teams were better off for it. Some have since netted extensions to guarantee a merited raise in the fall, but many will still be grossly underpaid next season.

Note: Snap counts obtained from Football Outsiders. All salary data obtained from Spotrac.

[MORE: Ranking 2016 MLB Starting Rotations from Worst to Best]

10. Tyrod Taylor, Bills QB

2015 Cost per Snap: $957
2015 Cap Hit: $883,333

Tyrod Taylor was one of the biggest surprises of 2015, emerging from a crowded preseason quarterback battle to become the Bills’ first Pro Bowl QB since Drew Bledsoe in 2002. He was the only quarterback to play at least eight games and earn less than $1,000 per play. For context, fellow Pro Bowler Eli Manning cost the Giants $18,000 whenever he took a snap.

The 26-year-old was exactly the steady hand Buffalo needed under center. His passer rating (99.4) ranked fifth in the league and second in team history among players with eight starts, behind only Jim Kelly in 1990.

Though Buffalo’s defense ultimately let the team down after a dominant showing in 2014, coach Rex Ryan recently insisted the team is in a better place now than it was a year ago.

Why? “We found our quarterback.” A cost-friendly quarterback, at that — a rarity in the NFL. Even with an extension reportedly on the table, that shouldn’t change in 2016.

9. Justin Bethel, Cardinals CB/ST

2015 Cost per Snap: $869
2015 Cap Hit: $688,556

Justin Bethel is a spectacular athlete who isn’t quite good enough to start full-time at cornerback (42 percent of Arizona’s defensive snaps), but has become one of the league’s premier special teams contributors.

Pro Football Focus ranked him as the best special teams player in the league back in 2013, when he made the first of three consecutive Pro Bowls. The 25-year-old led all players with 18 special teams tackles in 2014, then ranked second this year with 14.

He’s indispensable for the Cardinals, participating in over 75 percent of special teams plays while functioning as a gunner on kickoffs and punts while slowing them down on punt returns. Arizona recognized this in December, handing him a three-year, $15 million extension that’ll give Bethel a well-deserved raise.

8. Tyrann Mathieu, Cardinals CB/FS

2015 Cost per Snap: $857
2015 Cap Hit: $855,937

Even with Patrick Peterson’s five-year, $70.5 million contract on the books, Arizona’s secondary was probably one of the most underpaid units in the league last season. And that’s largely because of Bethel and Tyrann Mathieu, who was perhaps the league’s best bargain.

Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked Mathieu as the best cornerback in the NFL by a wide margin. The difference in their grades for Mathieu and Darius Slay, the No. 2 ranked corner, was equal to the gap between Slay and the No. 39 corner.

Of course, Mathieu is more than just a cornerback. He’s a super-charged hybrid rover who led the Cardinals’ defense with five interceptions, enforced his will on run defense and often pressured opposing quarterbacks. The former Heisman Trophy finalist also took part in 24 percent of Arizona’s special teams plays, though he no longer returns punts as he did in college to electrifying success.

The Cardinals better enjoy Mathieu in the final year of his rookie contract, because he won’t be underpaid for much longer.

7. Travis Kelce, Chiefs TE

2015 Cost per Snap: $852
2015 Cap Hit: $853,826

A first-time Pro Bowler in 2015, Travis Kelce teamed up with Jeremy Maclin to gobble up over half of the targets Alex Smith threw to revive Kansas City’s once-barren passing offense.

It was certainly nice for Kelce to get some help after carrying the team’s aerial attack in 2014. Even last season, he played 92 percent of Kansas City’s offensive snaps, 10 percent more than Maclin.

Kelce was rewarded for his production with a five-year, $46 million extension in January, but he’ll still count less than $3 million against Kansas City’s cap next season. That price is well worth retaining one of the sport’s most reliable targets at his position.

6. Devonta Freeman, Falcons RB

2015 Cost per Snap: $822
2015 Cap Hit: $631,106

Devonta Freeman was expected to compete with rookie Tevin Coleman for carries throughout the season. However, once Coleman injured his rib in Atlanta’s second game, Freeman took the starting job and ran with it (pun intended).

The second-year back out of Florida State ended up tying for the league lead in rushing touchdowns (11), tallying his first 1,000-yard campaign while appearing in 67 percent of Atlanta’s snaps.

It must be said that Freeman’s play noticeably suffered after he suffered a concussion in Week 11 against the Colts. After averaging at least 4.0 yards per carry in six of his first nine games, he never did so again in the five games he played after getting injured.

It doesn’t appear the Falcons will extend Freeman this offseason with two years remaining on his paltry rookie deal, so he’ll once again likely have something to prove come fall camp.

5. Allen Robinson, Jaguars WR

2015 Cost per Snap: $808
2015 Cap Hit: $797,925

Jacksonville brought in a bevy of young receivers before the 2014 season, hoping one would could grow into a No. 1 alongside Blake Bortles. Allen Robinson has proven to be the perfect match for Bortles – a physical receiver who can deliver game-breaking plays, both in the red zone and on deep balls.

Robinson ranked in the top 10 of red zone targets (21) and receiving yards per game (87.5), becoming the first Jaguar to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a decade. He also tied Odell Beckham Jr. atop the leaderboard for most receptions of 30+ yards.

Robinson also displayed remarkable durability, playing in 93 percent of Jacksonville’s snaps. If he can stay healthy, the Jaguars will undoubtedly try to lock up the favorite target of their franchise quarterback in the near future.

4. Jarvis Landry, Dolphins WR

2015 Cost per Snap: $807
2015 Cap Hit: $789,753

Miami’s offense wasn’t widely expected to feature a clear-cut No. 1 option in what was perceived as a deep receiving corps, but Jarvis Landry dispelled of that notion. No other Dolphin received half as many throws from QB Ryan Tannehill as the second-year LSU product, who ranked eighth in the league with 10.4 targets per game.

With his stellar catch rate of 71 percent (80th percentile of receivers), the sure-handed Landry converted all those looks into 110 receptions, the fourth-most in the NFL. He also ranked second in all-purpose yards (1,947), behind only Antonio Brown.

And that’s not all. Landry was also graded as the best non-kicker/punter special teams player in the league by Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Landry is basically the offensive version of Mathieu – a young, undersized bulldog with a giant motor who’s clearly the most talented man on his unit and will be making a lot of money soon enough.

3. Tyler Lockett, Seahawks WR/KR

2015 Cost per Snap: $750
2015 Cap Hit: $631,687

Tyler Lockett’s biggest contributions in 2015 were supposed to come on special teams. The rookie certainly didn’t disappoint there, finishing just behind Landry for second place in Pro Football Focus’ special teams player rankings and third place in all-purpose yardage (1,915).

But Lockett also surprisingly outranked Landry and everyone else in the league with a staggering 14.8 yards per touch, proving his exhilarating exploits translate to Seattle’s offense, too.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll couldn’t help but use his new supercharged toy, deploying Lockett on more than 60 percent of offensive snaps. All in all, not a bad return on a 5-foot-10 third-round pick.

2. Trai Turner, Panthers G

2015 Cost per Snap: $554
2015 Cap Hit: $644,950

Trai Turner progressed immensely in his second professional season, blossoming into a first-time Pro Bowler behind excellent work in both the run game and pass protection.

A third-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Turner played in nearly 98 percent of Carolina’s offensive snaps. All signs point toward Turner again being one of the NFL’s most underpaid players in 2016, since he’s still two years away from free agency.

1. Malcolm Butler, Patriots CB

2015 Cost per Snap: $425
2015 Cap Hit: $510,000

Patriots coach Bill Belichick is considered a football genius for a reason. New England’s Super Bowl hero was called on to replace the departed tandem of Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner in 2016. Those are big shoes to fill, but Butler proved up to the task and saved New England a ton of money in the process.

While Revis ended up as the highest-paid cornerback on a per-snap basis in 2015, Butler was the second-cheapest. Amazingly, the former undrafted free agent was the fourth lowest-paid NFL player per snap, taking part in nearly 99 percent of New England’s defensive plays.

What’s more, Butler actually outperformed Revis, according to Pro Football Focus. They ranked Butler as the 16th-best cornerback, while Revis tumbled down 27 spots from 2014 into a tie for 30th.

Belichick has a knack for letting go of veterans at the perfect moment. He squeezes all the value he can from them, then usually lets other teams overpay for their decline years. If coaches choose to do that, they must possess a ready replacement in the wings. Belichick is great at preparing his young players for that moment. And in Butler, he found 2015’s most useful diamond in the rough.

Explore NFL Player Profiles on PointAfter

An earlier version of this article originally appeared on Sports Illustrated.

Related Slideshow: The New England Patriots - Greatest Team Ever

The New England Patriots have won their fourth Super Bowl in the Brady/Belichick Era by defeating the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona. With that win, the Patriots have now put themselves in the conversation as being the greatest team ever in NFL history.

Here are ten reasons why they are in fact the greatest team!

Prev Next

10.

Free Agency/Salary Cap Era Dominance

Since the beginning of the free agency and salary cap era in 1993, no coach and team has been more well-known for shrewd moves to stay under the salary cap and bringing in free agents to supplement the talent on his team, and win at the same time, as the New England Patriots.

In 2001, coach Belichick brought in free agents David Patten, Larry Izzo, Mike Vrabel, Antowain Smith, Bryan Cox and Roman Phifer. The Patriots won their first Super Bowl.

Belichick continued to bring in major free agents for the Patriots’ other Super Bowl runs. Whether it was Roosevelt Colvin and Rodney Harrison in 2003 or trading for Corey Dillon in 2004.

Belichick has also not been afraid to let star players walk. This includes allowing Ty Law to leave in 2005, Willie McGinest and Adam Vinatieri to leave and trading Deion Branch in 2006 or letting Asante Samuel leave in 2008.

Belichick has also not been afraid to pull the trigger on major trades just prior to the season starting. Trading players like Lawyer Milloy, Richard Seymour and Logan Mankins less than a month before the start of those respective seasons.

Despite all of these moves, the Patriots have continued to win year in and year out.

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9.

12 Straight Seasons of atLeast 10 Wins or More

The New England Patriots have had at least 10 wins in a season for 12 straight seasons. The last time the Patriots didn't have at least 10 wins in a season was in 2002 when they went 9-7 the year after winning a Super Bowl.

In this stretch, New England has won 16 games once, 12 games four times, 14 games three times, 13 and 11 games once and ten games two times.

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8.

As the game changes, Patriots still win.

When the Patriots started this incredible run in 2001, the game was much different then it is today.

The running game was still emphasized and defense's were allowed to be much more physical then they are in the game today.

Today's game features rules that are structured to help the offense score more points and teams, including the Patriots, have had to change the way they play defense and the way they hit, due to the emphasis on concussion prevention.

Through all the rule changes that the league has undergone, the Patriots have still won, year in and year out.

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5.

14 Consecutive Winning Seasons

In Bill Belichick's first season in New England, 2000, the Patriots went 5-11 and missed the playoffs for the second straight season. Since then, the Patriots have not had a losing season, not even a .500 season, 14 straight winning seasons.

Looking at all the seasons, one of the most impressive seasons still remains the 2008 season. Tom Brady got hurt in the first game and was out for the season and Matt Cassell stepped in to replace him.

The Patriots went 11-5 that year but missed the playoffs due to a tie breaker that they lost.

That particular season has to be one of Bill Belichicks greatest jobs in his time here. Nobody saw the Patriots going 11-5 that season after Brady went down.

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7.

9 Conference Championship Appearances

In the Brady/ Belichick era, the Patriots have been to nine AFC Championship games and have won six of them.

New England is currently in a stretch in which they have gone to four straight championship games, three of which were held at Gillette Stadium.

To put this in perspective, Peyton Manning has lost in the first round nine times in his career and the New York Jets have only ever been to four Conference Championship games in franchise history since the AFL - NFL merger.

To be a final four team in nine of 14 seasons is pretty impressive for the New England Patriots, or for that matter, any other team.

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6.

12 Division Titles- 6 Straight

The New England Patriots have now won 12 AFC East titles in 14 years and are currently in the middle of a stretch in which they have won six straight.

With the rest of the AFC East still a disaster, one has to believe that the Pats will be adding a few more titles before the Belichick-Brady era is over.

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4.

6 Conference Championships

The Patriots have been the best team in the AFC six times in the 14 year run of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

Of the six games the Patriots won, they were favored in four of them and four of the six games were played at Gillette Stadium.

The six conference Championship wins are as follows:

2001- At Pittsburgh - Pats win 24-17
2003- vs Colts - Pats Win 24-14
2004- At Pittsburgh - Pats Win 41-27
2007- vs San Diego - Pats Win 21-12
2011- vs Baltimore - Pats Win 23-20
2015- vs Colts - Pats Win 45-7

Photo courtesy of Au Kirk, Flickr

Prev Next

3.

4 Rings- 6 Appearances

In the Patriots six appearences in the Super Bowl, they have come out of it with four championships, including a stretch of three in four years.

The Patriots Super Bowl Wins are as follows:

2001 vs St. Louis Rams - Pats Win 20-17
2003 vs Carolina - Pats Win 32-29
2004 vs Philidelphia - Pats Win 24-21
2015 vs Seattle - Pats Win 28-24

Prev Next

2.

Tom Brady- Greatest QB Ever?

Tom Brady now has four Super Bowl rings in his career tying his boyhood idol Joe Montana and is 4-2 in the Super Bowl with three Super Bowl MVP's.

Brady is the all-time leader in playoff passing yards with over 7,000 yards through the air and is the all -time leader in playoff wins with 21. Brady is 21-8 in the playoffs all-time.

Brady also has the most touchdown passes in Super Bowl history with 13 (Montana had 11) and has the most touchdown passes in playoff history with 53.

Brady is in the top five in career passing yards with over 53,000 and has a good chance to be in the top three by the time his career is over.

Tom Brady has 45 career game winning drives, which is tied for fourth all-time, and Brady is also fourth with 35 come from behind wins, 9 of which came in the playoffs.

The New England Patriots are the greatest team of all-time because they have the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady.

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1.

Bill Belichick- Greatest Coach Ever

The number one reason why the New England Patriots (2001-14) are the greatest team of all time is because they have the greatest coach of all time, Bill Belichick.

Belichick now has four Super Bowl Rings which ties him for the most all-time with Chuck Noll, who did it with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1969-91. However, Belichick gets the edge because he has done it in the salary cap/free agency era, where his teams have undergone significant changes on a year to year basis.

Despite the various roster changes from year to year, Belichick has still won and is by far the most dominant coach of this era.

Bill Belichick has 22 playoff wins which is already more than any other coach in the history of the league and is 103 games over the .500 mark (212-109) in his coaching career.

Bill Belichick, the greatest coach of the greatest team of all time.