Giants LB Markus Golden Gets $1 Million Bonus After Stat Correction

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In the third quarter of the New York Giants 41-35 overtime victory over the Washington Redskins over the weekend, linebacker Markus Golden along with teammate Lorenzo Carter, sacked Redskins quarterback Dwyane Haskins. Viewers sitting at home probably thought nothing of it. For Golden and Carter, it was a great play. They were each awarded a half sack.

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On Thursday afternoon, it was actually ruled that Golden would receive a full sack for the play, bringing his total on the season to 10. That achievement triggered a $1 million bonus for Golden, the fifth-year linebacker from Missouri.

"I earned it," Golden told ESPN. "It's always a goal to get double-digit sacks. If you're rushing the passer, you want to get there. It's a status thing -- 9.5 is a big difference than 10. It feels good to get it down, get it over with and like I said, be able to put it out for my kids to be able to keep playing, keep fighting."

He has 65 total tackles this season. With the feat, he also becomes the first Giant since Jason Pierre-Paul (12.5 in 2014) to reach double-digit sacks. His sacks (10), tackles-for-loss (13), and quarterback hits (27) are all team-highs this season.

Golden was selected in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals after a strong college career at Missouri.

In October 2017, Golden suffered a torn ACL and only registered 2.5 sacks during the 2018 season with the Cardinals after returning fom the injury.

Golden has been superb in New York this season. If he keeps this up, that $1 million bonus will be just the start of future paydays for Golden.