Early in February, Brian McIntyre reported on NFL base salary increases, naming four Buffalo Bills players that met certain criteria and would see boosts in their pay for the 2011 season. In an update to that report from last night, he's added a deserving player to the list: wide receiver Stevie Johnson.
Johnson, entering the fourth and final year of the rookie contract he signed in 2008, will make $1.2 million in base salary next season. That increase ties Reggie Corner for the highest increase in base salary we've seen confirmed for the Bills this season, as Johnson was originally scheduled to make just $555,000.
Johnson and Lee Evans, Buffalo's starting receivers, will make a combined $4.475 million in base salary next year. That's $695,000 more than they were scheduled to make prior to hitting contractual escalators. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Fred Jackson and the aforementioned Corner also saw salary increases; all told, the Bills will pay out an additional $1.765 million between these five players.