7. Employee Benefit Plans

The Company maintains the Chipotle Mexican Grill 401(k) Plan (the “401(k) Plan”). The Company matches 100% of the first 3% of pay contributed by each eligible employee and 50% on the next 2% of pay contributed. Employees become eligible to receive matching contributions after one year of service with the Company. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, Company matching contributions totaled approximately $5,939, $4,995 and $3,881, respectively. In addition to the traditional pre-tax deferral options, during 2016 the 401(k) Plan began offering a Roth after-tax deferral option.

The Company also maintains the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Supplemental Deferred Investment Plan (the “Deferred Plan”) which covers eligible employees of the Company. The Deferred Plan is a non-qualified plan that allows participants to make tax-deferred contributions that cannot be made under the 401(k) Plan because of Internal Revenue Service limitations. Participants’ earnings on contributions made to the Deferred Plan fluctuate with the actual earnings and losses of a variety of available investment choices selected by the participant. Total liabilities under the Deferred Plan as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 were $17,843 and $18,331, respectively, and are included in other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet. The Company matches 100% of the first 3% of pay contributed by each eligible employee and 50% on the next 2% of pay contributed once the 401(k) contribution limits are reached. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, the Company made deferred compensation matches of $225, $617, and $536 respectively, to the Deferred Plan.

The Company has elected to fund its deferred compensation obligations through a rabbi trust. The rabbi trust is subject to creditor claims in the event of insolvency, but the assets held in the rabbi trust are not available for general corporate purposes. Amounts in the rabbi trust are invested in mutual funds, consistent with the investment choices selected by participants in their Deferred Plan accounts, which are designated as trading securities and carried at fair value, and are included in other assets in the consolidated balance sheet. Fair value of mutual funds is measured using Level 1 inputs (quoted prices for identical assets in active markets), and the fair values of the investments in the rabbi trust were $17,843 and $18,331 as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The Company records trading gains and losses in general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of income and comprehensive income, along with the offsetting amount related to the increase or decrease in deferred compensation to reflect its exposure of the Deferred Plan liability.

The following table sets forth unrealized gains and losses on investments held in the rabbi trust:



	Year ended December 31,
	2016		2015		2014
Unrealized gains (losses) on investments held in rabbi trust	$	586	$	(571)	$	184

The Company offers an employee stock purchase plan (“ESPP”). Employees become eligible to participate after one year of service with the Company and may contribute up to 15% of their base earnings, subject to an annual maximum dollar amount, toward the monthly purchase of the Company’s common stock. Under the ESPP, 250 shares of common stock have been authorized and reserved for issuances to eligible employees, of which 247 represent shares that were authorized for issuance but not issued at December 31, 2016. For each of the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, the number of shares issued under the ESPP were less than 1.