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Even though his All-Pro streak is over, a couple of weeks ago, we learned that Cleveland Browns LT Joe Thomas was named to his tenth consecutive Pro Bowl. By making the Pro Bowl, Thomas triggered an increase in the roster bonus he is due this year, according to Joel Corry of CBS Sports:
Joe Thomas' Pro Bowl selection triggers an escalator that increases his 2017 5th day of league year roster bonus (3/13) from $1M to $2.5M.
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) December 21, 2016
I learned about the roster bonus while compiling numbers for the amount of available cap space the Browns are projected to have. Over The Cap and Spotrac had a $1.5 million discrepancy in Thomas’ cap hit for 2017, which eventually led me to Corry’s tweet.
Thomas' cap hit in 2017 will be $11.5 million. Cutting him would not produce any form of a dead cap hit, but there is no way that Browns would let him go. His roster bonus of $2.5 million is on March 13th.
If Thomas makes the Pro Bowl again in 2017, he will trigger an additional $2 million roster bonus in 2018, which would be the final year of his contract.