Injured Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas was recently given a $3-million raise from the team, with $1.5 million coming in the form of a 2017 bonus and another $1.5 million being added onto his 2018 base salary.
His $10.3-million salary next season will rank him as the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL, and will add on to over $121 million in career earnings, according to Spotrac.
Thomas appreciates what he calls a show of affection from the team he has spent his entire 11-year career with, making the Pro Bowl in each of the first 10 seasons.
"I think they realized it’s the right thing to do, and it sends a good message going forward to the rest of the players in the locker room," Thomas said in an interview with Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com.
Thomas says the discussions began roughly two years ago, despite already being locked into a seven-year, $80.5-million contract he signed prior to the 2011 season. While the Browns continued to struggle over that time, Thomas extended his consecutive snap streak to 10,363 before sustaining a season-ending triceps injury this year.
"I’ve tried to go about my business as well as I possibly can, representing the organization, playing as well as I can, trying to be a team player, and they felt a market adjustment was not only good for me, of course, but good for them, good for their business, because when you reward players when you don’t have to, that sends a message to the locker room that says, 'If you do the right things and you put yourself on the line for this team, we’ll reward you, even if you’re under contract,'" Thomas said.