Eagles restructure Johnson and Barnett contracts

[Hawkeye]

The Eagles now have more than $16 million in 2021 cap space and are among the top 10 teams in the league with cap to spare.  That's remarkable considering they have almost $49 million in dead money.  It also implies they're comfortable hanging onto Ertz and his $13 million dollar cap hit this year. 

[jmac+djaxallday]

Deshaun Watson cap hit - $15.9 million 🤔

[Cochis_Calhoun]

1 hour ago, jmac+djaxallday said:

Deshaun Watson cap hit - $15.9 million 🤔

Next year his salary is a fully guaranteed $35million, he's going to want a market setting extension, he'll cost all our first 2 days draft capital next year. 

Restructuring these contracts is dumb as rocks, Barnett is basically on the same contract but costs us dead cap if we let him go at the end of the year and Lane Johnson's contract is going to be an example of how not to do contracts at sports administration courses in a decade or so. 

Howie's still can kicking. 

[EazyEaglez]

Not a fan of the moves.

[matchew88]

What if he lets the 14M move to 2022? Won't be so bad...

[UK_EaglesFan89]

So they've kicked the can down the road yet again? In fact they've added 4 voidable years to Barnett? I didn't even know he was under contract for another 4 years? And why are they creating space for this year. 

[Hawkeye]

1 hour ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

So they've kicked the can down the road yet again? In fact they've added 4 voidable years to Barnett? I didn't even know he was under contract for another 4 years? And why are they creating space for this year. 

The cap is specifically designed to "kick the can down the road".  It allows financial flexibility under a hard cap, which is really hard to do.  As for this year?  They need cap space to make roster adjustments as the season rolls along.  They had $2 million in space before this move - which is nothing. And anything they don't spend this year rolls over into next. 

This is the salary cap equivalent of moving the ball from the 2 yard line out to the 16.  It provides a little breathing room.

[NOTW]

Does it mean it will be harder to release Lane Johnson in future years or is it not affecting future years?

[Bwestbrook36]

Just now, NOTW said:

Does it mean it will be harder to release Lane Johnson in future years or is it not affecting future years?

At this point I think the answer to this will always be yes lol

[Guest]

And after some research, even though they spread out the void years, they all accelerate to the current year if the player is released or not re signed.  So all those guys on 1 year deals, with the cap hits spread out, if they leave, all those spread out into 2024 void years all come due in 2022.

[brkmsn]

5 hours ago, matchew88 said:

What if he lets the 14M move to 2022? Won't be so bad...

Don't interrupt the Howie-kicks-the-can narrative. The moves give us some flexibility during this season and if we don't make any moves (which is a bit unlikely), we could carry it all over into next season. The reason for doing this wasn't to increase the roll-over next season, though, It was just a way to allow potential additions this year. If we don't make any notable signings or trades this season, but 1 of our key, young players proves to be a building block (someone like Goedert), they may use some of the space in an extension.

[eggs]

8 hours ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

Next year his salary is a fully guaranteed $35million, he's going to want a market setting extension, he'll cost all our first 2 days draft capital next year. 

Restructuring these contracts is dumb as rocks, Barnett is basically on the same contract but costs us dead cap if we let him go at the end of the year and Lane Johnson's contract is going to be an example of how not to do contracts at sports administration courses in a decade or so. 

Howie's still can kicking. 

I agree - Howie is getting desperate to save his job in the short term and it will be a lead weight for years to come. It’s a zero sum game - pay now or pay later. 

[weko]

This gives them cap space to sign Mailata to a sizeable extension

[time2rock]

17 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

So they've kicked the can down the road yet again? In fact they've added 4 voidable years to Barnett? I didn't even know he was under contract for another 4 years? And why are they creating space for this year. 

He's not ... currently he is only under contract for the 2021 season.  But there are plenty of players that have those voidable years added to the back end of their contracts where they will not be on the roster but still have prorated bonus money due.  There are 14 players in 2025 that fit that description (Slay, Kelce, Brooks, Elliott, Graham, McLeod, Flacco, Kerrigan, Wilson, Seumalo, Nelson, Harris, Barnett, Hargrave).  Could be a couple that are still on the roster but most certainly will not be.  

[Hawkeye]

2 hours ago, time2rock said:

He's not ... currently he is only under contract for the 2021 season.  But there are plenty of players that have those voidable years added to the back end of their contracts where they will not be on the roster but still have prorated bonus money due.  There are 14 players in 2025 that fit that description (Slay, Kelce, Brooks, Elliott, Graham, McLeod, Flacco, Kerrigan, Wilson, Seumalo, Nelson, Harris, Barnett, Hargrave).  Could be a couple that are still on the roster but most certainly will not be.  

Exactly.  But it also suggests the Eagles will attempt to resign him.  If they don't, the entire $7 million dollar restructured "bonus" is a dead money charge next year.  If they do, they can prorate it over the term of the new deal. 

[pallidrone]

I dont get why people get so bent out of shape over how they structure contracts. What does having a bunch of cap room really give a team other then the ability to overpay for a mediocre free agent?

This is not the early 2000s. Kicking the can down the street does not matter anymore.

[NOTW]

8 minutes ago, pallidrone said:

I dont get why people get so bent out of shape over how they structure contracts. What does having a bunch of cap room really give a team other then the ability to overpay for a mediocre free agent?

This is not the early 2000s. Kicking the can down the street does not matter anymore.

It matters when you sign extensions that make it harder to cut an older player that suffers injury, like Brandon Brooks for example.  There are times they should let players become free agents rather than restructure to multi-year deal and then be stuck with them on guaranteed money, and pay guys to sit on IR.

[Lesdawg1978]

Y'all still haven't learned smh. Never worry about the cap as long as Howie is here. This year was tight due to the pandemic and the unfortunate situation with Carson. I don't anticipate those two things happening again. 

[pallidrone]

2 minutes ago, NOTW said:

It matters when you sign extensions that make it harder to cut an older player that suffers injury, like Brandon Brooks for example.  There are times they should let players become free agents rather than restructure to multi-year deal and then be stuck with them on guaranteed money, and pay guys to sit on IR.

Unless they can't resign an important player because of their cap - it doesn't matter.

What is the point of having a ton of cap room if you are not using it?

[UK_EaglesFan89]

3 minutes ago, pallidrone said:

Unless they can't resign an important player because of their cap - it doesn't matter.

What is the point of having a ton of cap room if you are not using it?

I agree with this. I mean the best teams in the league aren't the ones with the most cap space. 

[Captain F]

On 8/3/2021 at 2:20 PM, Cochis_Calhoun said:

Next year his salary is a fully guaranteed $35million, he's going to want a market setting extension, he'll cost all our first 2 days draft capital next year. 

 

Ya.. That ship has sailed for the foreseeable future. 

[NOTW]

1 minute ago, pallidrone said:

Unless they can't resign an important player because of their cap - it doesn't matter.

What is the point of having a ton of cap room if you are not using it?

Of course you want to use your cap.  First, you want flexibility to sign any free agents or make any extensions to your players before they hit free agency.  Second, you don't want a lot of dead money being paid to players no longer on your team.  I think people take issue with the kicking the can down the road on the older veterans when they should not extend them but let them finish out their contracts.  So you have a year or two left on a few older guys and their back-loaded contracts are taking up too much cap space.  So Howie extends them and adds years to their contract that are also back-loaded and guarantees them a certain amount.  Now you have older guys with injuries and should be on their way out in a year or two, but instead you locked yourself into 4-5 years of a contract with them.

I don't understand all the complexities of the contract and cap situations like some others.  But look at a few examples of older guys on the decline or having injury problems they are locked into:

Brandon Graham:  big dead money numbers for the next 3 years.  Current cost to cut him is $34m, next year $26m, 2023 is $18m then in 2024 $10.  He's signed through 2026.  

Brandon Brooks has had 3 injuries the last 3 years, is signed through 2025.  Cost to cut him currently is $22m, next year $15m, 2023 is almost $10m.  When healthy he's been great but he's now injury prone.  He's not going to last 5 more seasons.

Lane Johnson:  another beast when healthy but is starting to have injury concerns as well.  He's signed through 2028!  His dead money this year is $46m, next year $35m, 2023 is $20m, 2024 is $10m.  If any of these guys have long periods of injury they're putting all that salary into older guys who sit on IR.  

Then you have backups you have been grooming that you need to decide to pay or let walk.  They need to pay Mailata, and decide about Dillard.  If either Brooks or Johnson get hurt again this year their backups get a lot of starting time and then make the case to be a starter, maybe want to go elsewhere.  Hargrave has similar dead money for the next 4 seasons and he was already injured his first year here.  Kelce has talked retirement for years and they just drafted his replacement (injury prone as well) and Kelce is signed through 2025.  

Howie has been good with the cap, but mostly so is every NFL team.  He's not some guru genius anymore and some of these decisions including the bad contract he gave Alshon Jeffrey and paying DeSean Jackson to sit on IR cost the team from being able to do other things.

[pallidrone]

1 hour ago, NOTW said:

Of course you want to use your cap.  First, you want flexibility to sign any free agents or make any extensions to your players before they hit free agency.  Second, you don't want a lot of dead money being paid to players no longer on your team.  I think people take issue with the kicking the can down the road on the older veterans when they should not extend them but let them finish out their contracts.  So you have a year or two left on a few older guys and their back-loaded contracts are taking up too much cap space.  So Howie extends them and adds years to their contract that are also back-loaded and guarantees them a certain amount.  Now you have older guys with injuries and should be on their way out in a year or two, but instead you locked yourself into 4-5 years of a contract with them.

I don't understand all the complexities of the contract and cap situations like some others.  But look at a few examples of older guys on the decline or having injury problems they are locked into:

Brandon Graham:  big dead money numbers for the next 3 years.  Current cost to cut him is $34m, next year $26m, 2023 is $18m then in 2024 $10.  He's signed through 2026.  

Brandon Brooks has had 3 injuries the last 3 years, is signed through 2025.  Cost to cut him currently is $22m, next year $15m, 2023 is almost $10m.  When healthy he's been great but he's now injury prone.  He's not going to last 5 more seasons.

Lane Johnson:  another beast when healthy but is starting to have injury concerns as well.  He's signed through 2028!  His dead money this year is $46m, next year $35m, 2023 is $20m, 2024 is $10m.  If any of these guys have long periods of injury they're putting all that salary into older guys who sit on IR.  

Then you have backups you have been grooming that you need to decide to pay or let walk.  They need to pay Mailata, and decide about Dillard.  If either Brooks or Johnson get hurt again this year their backups get a lot of starting time and then make the case to be a starter, maybe want to go elsewhere.  Hargrave has similar dead money for the next 4 seasons and he was already injured his first year here.  Kelce has talked retirement for years and they just drafted his replacement (injury prone as well) and Kelce is signed through 2025.  

Howie has been good with the cap, but mostly so is every NFL team. He's not some guru genius anymore and some of these decisions including the bad contract he gave Alshon Jeffrey and paying DeSean Jackson to sit on IR cost the team from being able to do other things.

What exactly did it cost them? I don't see a player that they completely missed out on because they couldn't pay them nor have I seen a player that was worthy of an extension and a vital part of the team that they could not sign because of cap room. When Alshon was a free agent everyone said that there was no way that the Eagles would sign him because they didn't have the cap room and they made room and signed him. 

Unlike back in the early 2000s, top notch players are not hitting the open market where you need cap room to sign them because teams have become smarter in how to keep them long term on the team. Those players that are upset end up being traded and not hitting the open market.

To me the cap is malleable and can made in anyway that a team sees fit. Kicking the can down the street really means nothing in the long run. Even with the examples that you gave any of these players could have a cap charge split between two years with a June 1st cut if need be, which cuts down on the active money against the cap in the given year. It is like you guys think that Howie is going in willy nilly and just handing out extensions and restructures without looking at the make up of the team 2,3,5 years out. 

Now none of my opinion means that I think Howie is doing a A+ job here, so don't misconstrue it as that. I just think that people tend to overblow the cap.

[Cochis_Calhoun]

14 hours ago, What The F said:

Ya.. That ship has sailed for the foreseeable future. 

He'd have to have come out of the legal issues for someone to have traded for him, if thats the case and someone has just ponied up multiple 1st's, his numbers are what they are. He'll not sign a Mahomes style 10 year deal to make it the 'most expensive contract in the NFL', but he'll get $40 - 45 million per.

[Guest]

17 hours ago, NOTW said:

He's not some guru genius anymore and some of these decisions including the bad contract he gave Alshon Jeffrey and paying DeSean Jackson to sit on IR cost the team from being able to do other things.

For you guys that care, my continued tracking of the cap situation.  I started doing this on March 4th, the cap as it stood then.

 

2022 cap space - $ 73.325 million

2023 cap space - $ 136.813 million

2024 cap space - $ 207.5 million

After all the maneuvering to get under the 2021 cap, sign guys with multiple void years, sign rookies and other restructures, here is where the Eagles stand August 5th.

2022 cap space - $ 3.193 million ( that is 70 million less than the Eagles had on March 4th )

2023 cap space - $ 76.829 million ( that is 59.9 million less than the Eagles had on March 4th )

2024 cap space - $ 177.6 million ( that is 29.898 million less than the Eagles had on March 4th )

 

That is a total negative impact on the 2022-2024 cap of 160 million.  Not sure how anyone can defend his cap gymnastics at this point.