Dontari Poe, hero to all men, earns yet another weight incentive bonus

Dontari Poe is set to make quite a bit of money this season, but thanks to diligent dietary and exercise-based work, he’s going to earn extra bonuses.

This is the result of smart contract negotiations on both sides. The Falcons had seen enough of Poe to know that he’s an immense talent, but one whose extra weight could very well have been the reason the snap-to-snap results were so inconsistent for him in recent years. It was a no-brainer for Quinn and company to ask for Poe to shed some weight so he could continue to stay on the field for the majority of games, but move a little quicker and hopefully deliver elite results next to emerging star Grady Jarrett.

For Poe, it was the chance to earn plenty of extra cash for something as simple—and I use that word knowing that losing weight is never all that easy, but it is often straightforward—as shedding extra pounds. Having come in at or under weight again, Poe picks up yet another $125,000 bonus to do something he may have been motivated to do anyways in pursuit of his next big contract. Win-win.

The Falcons will be counting on Poe to deliver results in 2017, which is what animated these stipulations in the first place. Jack Crawford and Courtney Upshaw figure to be useful backups, but Poe is going to be on the field a lot—perhaps even more than Jarrett, who is younger and smaller—and will key what the Falcons certainly hope is a greatly improved run defense.

The bottom line is that every single one of us would love to be incentivized to lose weight, but very few of us will ever get the chance. A slimmed-down Poe could very well be headed for a big year and a massive payday. I’d love to see him earn it.