Did you get everything you wanted this holiday season?
Chances are, you probably didn't make out as well as Giants linebacker Markus Golden, who will find himself $2.5 million richer following the team's season finale against the Eagles on Sunday.
Earlier in the week, the league announced a stat correction from the team's win over the Redskins in Week 16, crediting Golden for a full sack rather than a half-sack.
What appeared to be a simple matter of bookkeeping turned into a lucrative piece of business for Golden, who signed a one-year contract in the offseason worth $3.75 million, but which also had incentives built in. The former Cardinal suffered a torn ACL in 2017, but had 12.5 sacks with Arizona in 2016. He had just 2.5 sacks in his final year with the Cardinals in 2018.
One of those incentives was a $1 million bonus for getting back to 10 sacks this season. Golden's half-sack against Washington put him at 9.5, but the stat correction pushed him into double digits, triggering the bonus.
"I knew it was a full sack for me," Golden told The Athletic. "You could tell on film. So I'm glad they fixed it because I needed that one."
The Athletic also notes that Golden will rake in a second, even larger bonus, simply by putting on his jersey for the final time this season. Golden is owed another $1.5 million if he appears on the team's active roster for all 16 games. He's 15-for-15 so far.
From a personal standpoint, the 28-year-old's one-year stint with the Giants was about as successful as he could have hoped. He increased his yearly earnings 66 percent, and surely set himself up for a big payday with another run at free agency on the horizon.
This time, he's already proven that he's healthy, and even more importantly not easy to stop in the pass rush.
For his part, Golden has already said that he'd "love" the opportunity to re-sign with the Giants. Even with the bonuses included, it's going to take a lot more than Big Blue's already given him to bring him back.