Jordan Whitehead restructured his contract, creating $5.3M in cap savings

[slats]

10 hours ago, Embrace the Suck said:

Only 8 mill in dead money is pretty awesome too.

Exactly right. Joe Douglas fixed the roster and the cap simultaneously, making the Rodgers move doable without the disastrous cap ramifications that detractors -who otherwise admit knowing nothing about the cap- have been complaining about. 

Some of this money will undoubtedly go to raising Rodgers’ cap number for this season, but they still have a lot of maneuverability to make a major move should they choose. 

[Sperm Edwards]

11 hours ago, Bleedin Green said:

There really is nothing to celebrate about this move.  A player who was widely panned around here last year didn't actually give up a single cent, but rather was actually given his money even sooner, so he's definitely happy to take that deal.  It does nothing but guarantee him the job this year regardless of how he well does from here.  This was once again pushing debt into future years that they'll be paying long after these players are gone.

JD is definitely going all in on this year, and is willing to mortgage anything for that.  Not particularly surprising after everything that happened surrounding Rodgers, and if it works he'll be a hero, but if it fails then his NFL career is very deservedly finished.

It seems like a $2MM pay cut at first glance (unless something else creative was in there, like an obscure NLTBE incentive on paper, that’s LTBE in reality). Player gets a guaranteed roster spot and the team gets cap relief.

His original contract was $14.5MM over 2 years. He was paid $7.25MM in y1 (as SB and salary) and was due the other $7.25MM in y2 (all as salary). New money for 2023 therefore dropped from $7.25MM to $5.25MM. Likewise, the total remaining cap hits went from $10.2MM to $8.2MM. https://overthecap.com/player/jordan-whitehead/7002

There’s no mortgaging of the future being done here. It’s a Whitehead pay cut, and the void-years restructures for Whitehead & others are a form of PR move: the optics look better on paper to have the line-item for Rodgers count as $20MM less of a cap hit in ‘24 along with $20MM in others’ dead cap hits accelerating, than a $20MM larger cap figure for AR for ‘24 but without those others’, $20MM in dead money, even if the total cap hits are identical. In reality it won’t be that clean (a Rodgers restructure will surely have a good amount of his own cap hits shoved off to void years), but it looks better / more balanced than, say, restructuring him to an $80MM cap charge in ‘24 while he’s still playing, even if in the end he’s getting paid the same money (which therefore come with the same total cap charges).

[Jetsfan80]

3 hours ago, Sperm Edwards said:

It seems like a $2MM pay cut at first glance (unless something else creative was in there, like an obscure NLTBE incentive on paper, that’s LTBE in reality). Player gets a guaranteed roster spot and the team gets cap relief.

His original contract was $14.5MM over 2 years. He was paid $7.25MM in y1 (as SB and salary) and was due the other $7.25MM in y2 (all as salary). New money for 2023 therefore dropped from $7.25MM to $5.25MM. Likewise, the total remaining cap hits went from $10.2MM to $8.2MM. https://overthecap.com/player/jordan-whitehead/7002

There’s no mortgaging of the future being done here. It’s a Whitehead pay cut, and the void-years restructures for Whitehead & others are a form of PR move: the optics look better on paper to have the line-item for Rodgers count as $20MM less of a cap hit in ‘24 along with $20MM in others’ dead cap hits accelerating, than a $20MM larger cap figure for AR for ‘24 but without those others’, $20MM in dead money, even if the total cap hits are identical. In reality it won’t be that clean (a Rodgers restructure will surely have a good amount of his own cap hits shoved off to void years), but it looks better / more balanced than, say, restructuring him to an $80MM cap charge in ‘24 while he’s still playing, even if in the end he’s getting paid the same money (which therefore come with the same total cap charges).

 

 

[Sperm Edwards]

1 hour ago, Jetsfan80 said:

 

 

Actually I think I might make that my new avatar picture.

Oh wait -- finally a worthy signature picture!

Sweeeeeeet.

[BCJet]

16 hours ago, Sperm Edwards said:

It seems like a $2MM pay cut at first glance (unless something else creative was in there, like an obscure NLTBE incentive on paper, that’s LTBE in reality). Player gets a guaranteed roster spot and the team gets cap relief.

His original contract was $14.5MM over 2 years. He was paid $7.25MM in y1 (as SB and salary) and was due the other $7.25MM in y2 (all as salary). New money for 2023 therefore dropped from $7.25MM to $5.25MM. Likewise, the total remaining cap hits went from $10.2MM to $8.2MM. https://overthecap.com/player/jordan-whitehead/7002

There’s no mortgaging of the future being done here. It’s a Whitehead pay cut, and the void-years restructures for Whitehead & others are a form of PR move: the optics look better on paper to have the line-item for Rodgers count as $20MM less of a cap hit in ‘24 along with $20MM in others’ dead cap hits accelerating, than a $20MM larger cap figure for AR for ‘24 but without those others’, $20MM in dead money, even if the total cap hits are identical. In reality it won’t be that clean (a Rodgers restructure will surely have a good amount of his own cap hits shoved off to void years), but it looks better / more balanced than, say, restructuring him to an $80MM cap charge in ‘24 while he’s still playing, even if in the end he’s getting paid the same money (which therefore come with the same total cap charges).

Great analysis as always.  Any thoughts on the void years as a philosophy/pattern?

[Jet2020]

On 5/31/2023 at 2:15 PM, Embrace the Suck said:

That or be cut. He probably also knows it's a good team with a chance this year.

He’s not taking a pay cut. 

[Embrace the Suck]

On 6/1/2023 at 10:41 PM, Jet2020 said:

He’s not taking a pay cut. 

His total went from 10.2 to 8.2. The 8.2 guaranteed works in his favor, but his total possible is 2 million less. It may be a matter of semantics, but 8.2 is less than 10.2.