NFL incentives: Betting on players in Week 18 who bet on themselves

While Week 18 is meaningless for many NFL teams besides jockeying for draft position, some players are putting on the pads this Sunday with added incentives on the line.

Performance bonuses are often added to players' contracts, and Week 18 is their last opportunity to hit key milestones. This phenomenon isn't a secret, so it's not as if oddsmakers aren't aware. But that doesn't make it any less exciting to wager on a player you know is also trying to earn extra cash.

Let's see what's at stake.

Mike Evans

Milestone: 85 receiving yards and 5 receptions

Mike Evans can earn an extra $3 million if he hits 70 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards. The Buccaneers are 14-point favorites in a must-win game against the Saints, and Baker Mayfield said a victory and his star wideout hitting his milestones go hand-in-hand.

If Evans hits his milestones, he'll tie Jerry Rice's record of 11 straight seasons of 1,000-plus receiving yards and surpass Randy Moss for the second-most campaigns of at least 1,000 in a career.

Evans has -160 odds (61.5% implied probability) of getting 85 receiving yards at theScore Bet/ESPN Bet and is -400 (80% implied probability) to catch five-plus passes.

Courtland Sutton

Milestone: 82 receiving yards

Courtland Sutton is 82 receiving yards shy of a $2-million bonus. His Broncos take on the Chiefs in a must-win game in which Kansas City is resting its starters.

Sutton should see a ton of work in this contest, but he hasn't surpassed 80 yards in three straight games. With that said, he still leads the Broncos in all receiving categories and racked up 82-plus yards in four games this season.

His odds of hitting this milestone are +130 (43.5% implied probability).

J.K. Dobbins

Milestone: 58 rushing yards

J.K. Dobbins would've easily passed the 900 rushing-yard mark if he hadn't missed four games with a knee injury, but he'll get his chance Sunday against the Raiders.

Dobbins should be in the conversation of potential Comeback Player of the Year finalists. You'd have to think head coach Jim Harbaugh would like to reward his tailback with the opportunity to get at least 58 yards rushing to cash in on a $150,000 bonus.

Dobbins' odds of rushing for 58-plus yards on the ground are set at -120.

Geno Smith

Milestone: 186 passing yards and a Seahawks win

Geno Smith can earn $2 million if he passes for 186 yards and another $2 million if the Seahawks win. Seattle is a 6.5-point favorite over the Rams, who are sitting their starters ahead of the playoffs.

Smith has passed for 186-plus yards in all but three games this season. His odds of earning $2 million for surpassing his 2022 total are -700. However, you can parlay that with a Seahawks victory to get it to -200.

Tony Pollard

Milestone: 83 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns

Tony Pollard missed last week's game with an ankle injury but should be back Sunday with his eyes on some extra cash.

Pollard needs 83 rushing yards to hit 1,100 on the season, unlocking a $250,000 bonus. He'll earn another $200,000 if he scores twice. Pollard has rushed for 83-plus yards in six of 15 games this season and hasn't scored multiple times all campaign.

His odds of earning his bonus are +100 for the rushing yards and +400 to score twice.

Brock Bowers

Milestone: 9 receptions to set NFL record for tight ends

There's no financial incentive for Brock Bowers if he records nine catches against the Chargers, but he would enter the NFL record books. Bowers could eclipse Zach Ertz's record for most receptions in a single season by a tight end after he broke Mike Ditka's rookie tight end record last week.

The Raiders pass-catcher sits at 108 receptions, which already clipped Puka Nacua's rookie reception record set last year. Malik Nabers is also in the running to set the rookie receptions record, but he sits at 104 catches.