Super Bowl Salaries: What Players Earn for the Big Game

Sure, it's football's biggest game of the year, but you won't believe just how much cash each player earns (not including their normal salary) for this one, 60-minute game.

Here it is: The winning players—either the Packers or Steelers—in Super Bowl XLV in North Texas on Feb. 6, 2011, will each receive a super-size paycheck to the tune of $83,000, while each member of the losing team will earn $42,000. How does that compare to Super Bowls of the past? Here's a look at the winners' and losers' share from every Super Bowl.

CLICK HERE TO SEE BONUSES FOR SUPER BOWL XLVII

Super Bowl Date Winner (Share) Loser (Share)

XLIV 2-7-10  New Orleans ($83,000) Indianapolis ($42,000)

XLIII 2-1-09 Pittsburgh ($78,000) Arizona ($40,000)
XLII 2-3-08 N.Y. Giants ($78,000) New England ($40,000)

2011 NFL Draft—56 Players Granted Special Eligibility

The NFL announced the names of 56 players who have been granted special eligibility for the 2011 NFL Draft on April 28-30 at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

The NFL Draft will start in primetime for the second consecutive year. The first round will be held on Thursday, April 28.  The second and third rounds are set for Friday, April 29.  Rounds 4-7 will be held on Saturday, April 30. The entire NFL Draft will be televised by NFL Network and ESPN.

The players granted special eligibility for the 2011 NFL Draft are:

NFL Divisional Playoffs: And Then There Were 8

The NFL’s remaining eight teams will be in the spotlight on Divisional Weekend. On Saturday, Jan. 15, the AFC North champion Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) will host the division rival Baltimore Ravens (13-4) at Heinz Field (CBS, 4:30 PM ET). That night in primetime (FOX, 8:00 PM ET), the Atlanta Falcons (13-3), the NFC’s No. 1 seed, will welcome the Green Bay Packers (11-6) to the Georgia Dome.  On Sunday, Jan. 16, the NFC North champion Chicago Bears (11-5) will play the Seattle Seahawks (8-9) at Soldier Field (FOX, 1:00 PM ET) and the AFC’s top seed, the New England Patriots (14-2), will face the AFC East rival New York Jets (12-5) at Gillette Stadium (CBS, 4:30 PM ET).

“This time of year,” says Chicago Head Coach Lovie Smith, “the teams that are in the playoffs are all good football teams.”

For the first time since 2000, two of the Divisional matchups feature division foes. The AFC East’s Patriots and Jets will clash in New England and the AFC North’s Steelers and Ravens will face each other for the third time this year.

“We’re familiar with them and they’re familiar with us,” says Pittsburgh Head Coach Mike Tomlin about Baltimore.  “Not much has changed since the last time we played them.”

All four Divisional games are rematches of regular-season meetings. The Steelers and Ravens split the season series, as did the Patriots and Jets. The Seahawks defeated the Bears in Chicago in Week 6 and the Falcons knocked off the Packers in Week 12 at the Georgia Dome.

“These playoffs are wide open,” says NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth. “There isn’t anything that could happen that would surprise me.”


A look at this weekend’s Divisional Playoffs:

Why LA Should Never, EVER Have Another Football Team

The next time you think, "Hmmm, maybe LA should have another football team," just watch this video for a song called "Ram It!" and remember that something like this should never, EVER happen again.

NFL Wild Card Weekend Preview

(UPDATE 1/1/2012: CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S SCHEDULE)


NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (11-5) at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (7-9) 
(Saturday, NBC, 4:30 PM ET)      

The defending Super Bowl champions will head to Seattle’s Qwest Field to begin their title defense against the Seahawks, who captured the NFC West. 

“We’re looking forward to the challenge,” says Saints head coach SEAN PAYTON. “We know it’s going to be a tough place to play. The crowd noise is as loud as it is in this league for an outdoor venue. For us, it’s all about playing your best football at the right time, and that time is right now.  Clearly, everyone recognizes that you have to win to advance.”   

Leading the way for New Orleans is Pro Bowl quarterback DREW BREES, who has completed 66.7 percent of his passes (150 of 225) in the playoffs, an NFL record. Brees’ 103.7 postseason passer rating is second all-time behind Pro Football Hall of Famer BART STARR (104.8). 

7 Awesome Stats from NFL Week 17

 

Week 17 of the NFL season has come and gone. Let's look back at 7 feats of statistical awesomeness.

1. The INDIANAPOLIS COLTS defeated the Tennessee Titans 23-20 to clinch the AFC South and finish the regular season with a 10-6 record.  The Colts have advanced to the postseason in nine consecutive seasons, tying the Dallas Cowboys (1975-83) for the longest such streak in NFL history.  The Colts also notched their ninth consecutive 10-win season, the second-longest streak in league annals (16, San Francisco, 1983-98).

Also in the win, QB PEYTON MANNING had 264 passing yards and two touchdown passes.  Manning finished the season with 4,700 passing yards (4,500 in 2009) and joins Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks DAN FOUTS (1980-81) and WARREN MOON (1990-91) as the only players in NFL history to have consecutive seasons with at least 4,500 passing yards. 

2011 First Round NFL Draft Order

The order of the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft was announced by the NFL.

The 14-loss Carolina Panthers own the No. 1 pick of the draft, which will be held on April 28-30 at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

The NFL Draft will kick off in primetime for the second consecutive year. The first round will be held on Thursday, April 28. The second and third rounds are set for Friday, April 29. Rounds 4-7 will be held on Saturday, April 30.  

2011 FIRST ROUND DRAFT ORDER

Team	W-L	Win Pct	Strength of Schedule**
1. Panthers	2-14	.125	.574
2. Broncos	4-12	.250	.516
3. Bills	4-12	.250	.578
4. Bengals	4-12	.250	.582
5. Cardinals	5-11	.313	.465
6. Browns	5-11	.313	.570
7. 49ers	6-10	.375	.488
8. Titans	6-10	.375	.508
9. Cowboys	6-10	.375	.512
10. Redskins	6-10	.375	.516
11. Texans	6-10	.375	.523
12. Vikings	6-10	.375	.539
13. Lions	6-10	.375	.543
14. Rams	7-9	.438	.449
15. Dolphins	7-9	.438	.539
16. Jaguars	8-8	.500	.453
17. Patriots (from Raiders)	14-2	.875	.504
18. Chargers	9-7	.563	.457
19. Giants	10-6	.625	.453
20. Buccaneers	10-6	.625	.477
21. Seahawks*	7-9	.438	.484
22. Chiefs*	10-6	.625	.414
23. Colts*	10-6	.625	.473
24. Eagles*	10-6	.625	.492
25. Packers*	10-6	.625	.520
26. Saints*	11-5	.688	.469
27. Bears*	11-5	.688	.473
28. Jets*	11-5	.688	.492
29. Ravens*	12-4	.750	.484
30. Steelers*	12-4	.750	.500
31. Falcons*	13-3	.813	.484
32. Patriots*	14-2	.875	.504
*Position can change based on playoff advancement **Combined W-L of all opponents played this season

NFL WILD CARD & DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

The schedule of sites, dates and times for the NFL Wild Card Playoffs of January 8-9, 2011 and Divisional Playoffs of January 15-16, 2011 (all times Eastern) have been announced.

 

(UPDATE 1/1/2012: CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S SCHEDULE)

NFL WILD CARD WEEKEND

Saturday, January 8

NFC:    4:30 PM (ET)	New Orleans at St. Louis/Seattle (NBC-TV)
AFC:    8:00 PM (ET)	New York Jets at Indianapolis (NBC-TV)

Sunday, January 9

AFC:    1:00 PM (ET)	Baltimore at Kansas City (CBS-TV)
NFC:    4:30 PM (ET)	Green Bay at Philadelphia (FOX-TV)

NFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS

Saturday, January 15

AFC:    4:30 PM (ET)	Indianapolis or Kansas City or Baltimore at Pittsburgh (CBS-TV)
NFC:    8:00 PM (ET)	St. Louis/Seattle or New Orleans or Green Bay at Atlanta (FOX-TV)

Sunday, January 16

NFC:    1:00 PM (ET)	Philadelphia or St. Louis/Seattle or New Orleans at Chicago (FOX-TV)
AFC:    4:30 PM (ET)	Kansas City or Baltimore or New York Jets at New England (CBS-TV)

In the Divisional Playoffs, the division champion with the best record in each conference will host the lowest seeded Wild Card survivor.  Once teams are seeded for the playoffs, positions do not change:

American Football Conference	National Football Conference
1.  New England (14-2, AFC East champion)	1.  Atlanta (13-3, NFC South champion)
2.  Pittsburgh (12-4, AFC North champion)	2.  Chicago (11-5, NFC North champion)
3.  Indianapolis (10-6, AFC South champion)	3.  Philadelphia (10-6, NFC East champion)
4.  Kansas City (10-6, AFC West champion)	4.  St. Louis (7-8)/Seattle (6-9) (NFC West champion)
5.  Baltimore (12-4)	5.  New Orleans (11-5)
6.  New York Jets (11-5)	6.  Green Bay (10-6)

The  AFC (CBS, 6:30 PM ET) and NFC (FOX, 3:00 PM ET) Championship Games will be played on Sunday, January 23.

The 2011 Pro Bowl (FOX, 7:00 PM ET) will be played on Sunday, January 30 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, one week before Super Bowl XLV takes place at Cowboys Stadium in North Texas on Sunday, February 6 (FOX, 6:30 PM ET).

NFL Football Related Deaths (GRAPHIC)

This is a pretty cool graphic that we thought you might find interesting. It's a visual that breaks down the "Football Related Deaths" of players in the NFL. We're not sure how these stats stack up against the general population, but we have to wonder how many of these guys would have died regardless of whether they played football. In fact, we're surprised the stats aren't a lot higher than this.

(CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

SOURCE: Football Rumblings