Rarely can an NFL team and a player who has not fulfilled his contract reach an agreement. Most of the time, players are released for wage cap purposes, rather than finding a way to stay, especially when a team is dealing with difficult cap-related decisions.
But the Green Bay Packers are no ordinary organization, and Preston Smith seems to be willing to bet on himself in this off-season. The two sides agreed on a new contract structure for the veteran edge rusher, keeping Smith at Green Bay and on the team’s pass-rush rotation. For the Packers, the team gets almost as much relief from the salary cap in 2021 as it would have obtained with Smith’s immediate release. For Smith, he has the opportunity to make more money in 2021 than he would have before, while avoiding a potentially painful escalation cut and a search for a free agent during a difficult off-season for players.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the contract is divided as follows:
- $ 1 million base
- $ 6.5 million signing bonus (divided equally according to a $ 3.25 million limit reached each in 2021 and 2022)
- $ 300,000 active list bonus per game
- $ 200,000 training bonus
- $ 4.4 million in improbable withdrawal incentives (which are not charged by the 2021 limit)
By accounting for the $ 4 million in signature bonus money apportioned to the 2021 limit of Smith’s original contract, this deal will give him a $ 8.75 million limit reached this year, below the $ 16 million he would have cost without any restructuring. . In addition, this is almost the same amount that the Packers would have carried in dead money if they had released it immediately ($ 8 million).
Bag incentives start at 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 bags for the 2021 season. So if Smith reaches the 14 bag mark, he will receive the full amount of the incentive and will actually exceed $ 12 million in cash it was scheduled to receive in 2021.
For Smith, who seemed to be looking at the possibility of a pink slip, he has the security of knowing that he has a job this season and an opportunity to get a little extra money if he has a monstrous year chasing defenders. He also received a check for $ 6.5 million today, receiving $ 2.5 million more than his $ 4 million bonus that would expire next Friday. The Packers, on the other hand, manage to keep Smith in rotation, making the advantage less of an urgent need in this off season, while getting the relief they desperately need before the start of the league next Wednesday.
With this restructuring, Green Bay will face a more significant limit for Smith if they decide to leave him after 2021. He will have a prorated signing bonus of $ 7.25 million, which would be the dead money on the limit if they decide to split up ways this way. time in 2022. But with the expectation of capitalization recovery next year, the team kept its top group intact, giving Smith the opportunity to recover while offloading some capitalization money for the next season.
It is really a rare win-win situation.