I’m trying to understand nfl contracts. You read about players restructuring contracts to clear up cap space. Doesn’t a signing bonus count as cap space.
Edit. Thanks everyone for your answers, I get it now
In: 10
The bonus counts as cap space but spread over the length of the contract (or 5 years if it’s more than that). So they split the salary they would pay a player over the years of the contract. Eg, I have a player with a salary of $10 million this year and a 4 year contract. I can convert that to a signing bonus and pay $2.5 million over the next 4 years. I’d still have to pay them more the next 3 years, but if I really needed the cap space it saves $7.5 million. I don’t even need the player’s consent, but the catch is that regardless of what the terms of the contract were the signing bonus is 100% guaranteed.
Latest Answers