Jadeveon Clowney celebrates sack that triggered massive bonus vs. Steelers
Jadeveon Clowney has been terrorizing opposing quarterbacks in the National Football League for several years (since 2014). That doesn’t mean he doesn’t still get excited about a nice payday. Plenty of contracts across the league are loaded with performance-based incentives and Clowney’s is no different. On Saturday in the Steelers-Ravens game, Clowney got a sack and celebrated, since he was set to make $750,000 for hitting his sack bonus.
In the stats, the sack counted as 1/2 a sack, which pushed Clowney’s season total to 9.5, which triggered the bonus.
Jadeveon Clowney has been one of the most hyped football prospects in football history
There’s no other way to describe Clowney than a physical freak of nature. He was the top-rated prospect coming out of high school, according to every recruiting service in the country. He was an unblockable force that nobody could stop. That trend continued at the college level, where he was a one-man wrecking crew for the South Carolina Gamecocks.
He unleashed one of the hardest hits in college football history when he absolutely destroyed Michigan running back Vincent Smith. In the 2012 season, he set the school single-season record for sacks (13) and tackles for loss (23.5). His season was so dominant that he finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
In 2013, Clowney brought home All-American honors even though his numbers dipped quite a bit. During his prolific career with the Gamecocks, he racked up 129 total tackles, 47 tackles for loss, 24 sacks, and nine forced fumbles. His 24 total sacks currently rank him third all-time in South Carolina football history.
A two-time All-American in college, Clowney has made three Pro Bowls in his NFL career and was named second-team All-Pro in 2016. Clowney has recorded at least nine sacks in a season four times in his career, including this year with the Ravens.
While he hasn’t produced at quite the level many would have hoped in the NFL, he’s still been very good. In 126 career games in the NFL, Clowney has racked up 52.5 sacks. The South Carolina native has played for the Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and now the Baltimore Ravens.
The Baltimore Ravens have clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC for the 2024 Playoffs. They’ll rest plenty of their starters this week as they prepare to make a potential run to the Super Bowl. The Ravens’ defense has been one of the most dominant units in the league this year–limiting their opponents to just 16.5 points per game.