CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A bid to lose a little weight might have cost Carolina rookie defensive end Julius Peppers a $1 million bonus.

Peppers was named an alternate Thursday to the Pro Bowl, but many Panthers felt he could have been a starter if not for his four-game suspension for violating the NFL's list of banned substances.

The Panthers would have owed Peppers $1 million is he was named a starter. Additionally, he has about $11 million in future bonuses tied up in incentives that include the number of Pro Bowls he makes over the life of his seven-year contract.

The suspension is also costing him $235,000 in game checks.

"Am I shocked? No. Did I think he was deserving? Yes,'' said Carolina coach John Fox. "Him not finishing the season, I think that probably hurt a little bit. I can only speculate... If he had five sacks against Cincinnati, I think that might have swayed the voting.

"It is what have you seen lately right before you vote.''

Peppers is second in the NFC in sacks with 12, only behind Tampa Bay's Simeon Rice, who has 14½. Rice made the NFC team at defensive end along with Hugh Douglas of Philadelphia, who has 11½ and Michael Strahan of the New York Giants, who has 11

He has already served two games of his four-game suspension for taking the banned substance, which was in a dietary supplement.

Carolina defensive end Brentson Buckner was also suspended this season for violating the policy and said the league needs to look into the severity of the penalty.

Panthers defensive end Mike Rucker said the suspension hurt Peppers.

"With Pep missing those two games, it made it a lot cloudier as far as him getting in,'' Rucker said. "You'd think that if he was still here he would be a shoo-in. That allowed a lot of guys to catch up with him.''