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An NFL team and a player who broke their contract can rarely find a compromise. More often than not, players are released for salary cap purposes rather than finding a way to stay, especially when a team is faced with difficult cap decisions.
But the Green Bay Packers are no ordinary organization, and Preston Smith looks set to bet on himself this offseason. Both sides have reportedly agreed on a new contract structure for veteran Edge Rusher, keeping Smith in Green Bay and in the team’s pass-rush rotation. For the Packers, the team is getting almost as much pay cap relief in 2021 as they should have released Smith outright. For Smith, he has the opportunity to make more money in 2021 than before, while avoiding a potentially painful roster reduction and free agent search during a tough offseason for players.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the contract breaks down as follows:
- $ 1 million base
- Signing bonus of $ 6.5 million (split evenly into a cap of $ 3.25 million each reached in 2021 and 2022)
- Active List Bonus of $ 300,000 per game
- $ 200,000 workout bonus
- $ 4.4 million likely will not be earned as termination incentives (which are not counted against the 2021 cap)
Factoring in the $ 4 million signing bonus prorated over the cap for 2021 of Smith’s original contract, this deal will give him a cap of $ 8.75 million this year, down from the $ 16 million. that it would have cost without any restructuring. Plus, that’s about the same amount the Packers would have taken in dead money if they had released it outright ($ 8 million).
Sack incentives start at 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 sacks for the 2021 season. So if Smith hits the 14 sack mark, he would earn the full incentive amount and actually exceed $ 12 million. in cash he was to receive in 2021.
For Smith, who was apparently looking at the possibility of a pink slip, he has the security of knowing he has a job this season and an opportunity to get some extra cash if he has a monstrous year chasing them. quarters. He also collects a check for $ 6.5 million today, getting $ 2.5 million more than his bonus of $ 4 million which was due to be paid next Friday. The Packers, meanwhile, manage to keep Smith in the rotation, making the Edge Rusher less urgent during the offseason, while also getting some much-needed cap relief before the start of the year of the league next wednesday.
With this restructuring, Green Bay will face a larger cap on Smith if they decide to leave him after 2021. He will have a prorated signing bonus of $ 7.25 million, which would be dead money on the ceiling if they decided to go their separate ways. this time around in 2022. But with the cap expected to rebound next year, the team kept its edge group intact, giving Smith the opportunity to bounce back while unloading some of the money from the cap to the next season.
It really is a rare win-win.
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