signing bonus

plural signing bonuses

1. businessSynonym of sign-on bonus.

   But people briefed on the negotiations said that workers would receive a signing bonus of $5,000 in lieu of cost-of-living wage increases.

   2011 September 17, Bill Vlasic, Nick Bunkley, “General Motors Is Said to Offer Bonuses and Reopened Plan”, in New York Times, retrieved 20 Sep 2012

   2 more examples

   The Tigers are collecting dividends now . . . as a result of the $52,000 check which Owner Walter O. Briggs handed Wakefield in July 1941, when as a sophomore at Michigan, he signed with Detroit. It was the biggest signing bonus in major league history.

   1944 September 21, “Wakefield Supplies Batting Punch in Detroit Tigers' Pennant Drive”, in Milwaukee Journal, retrieved 20 Sep 2012, page 12

   Signed. Emmitt Smith, 27, running back; to the Dallas Cowboys. The eight-year, $48 million contract includes a record $15 million signing bonus.

   1996 August 26, “Milestones”, in Time

   Synonyms: sign-on bonus