What happens to NLTBE performance incentives if they are earned?

When NLTBE (Not Likely To Be Earned) performance incentives are actually earned, they shift from being considered "not likely to be earned" to impacting the team's salary cap. More specifically, these incentives will count against the team salary cap for the next league year. This means that once the performance criteria are met, teams must account for the financial hit that results from these incentives being earned in their future salary cap calculations.

In contrast to this, performance incentives that are classified as LTBE (Likely To Be Earned) are factored into the cap before the season based on expectations. Therefore, the critical aspect of NLTBE incentives is that they only come into consideration for the next cap year upon being earned, adding to the team’s financial obligations and affecting how they manage their salary cap going forward.