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New York Giants left tackle Nate Solder opted out of the 2020 season on Wednesday, citing a concern for the safety and well-being of his family.
Considering Solder’s son, Hunter, has had a long battle with cancer, the tackle’s decision seems logical. Add in that Solder himself has battled cancer and that he and his wife just welcomed a new baby, and the veteran’s decision to opt-out seems like a no brainer.
But what does it mean for the Giants financially? Well… that’s a tricky question.
The short answer is that no one seems to know for sure. The long answer is that it’s extremely complicated.
On the surface, it would seem that Solder’s entire cap number simply comes off the books and is pushed to 2021, but that’s not exactly how things will shake out.
First and foremost, if Solder is considered a “high-risk” opt-out — which he is — he will received a $350,000 stipend that will not count against future earnings. If his opt-out is considered voluntary — which it’s not — he would receive a $150,000 stipend that is considered a salary advance.
From there, things get even more cloudy.
With Solder’s opt-out, his contract essentially gets pushed back one year, meaning 2020 becomes 2021 and 2021 becomes 2022. However, even then there are some other odds and ends that factor in.
On the surface, the numbers suggest the Giants would clear roughly $16 million in salary cap space, but due to a previous contract restructure and a March roster bonus of $3 million, some of Solder’s salary will remain on the books, including a dead cap hit of between $6 million and $6.5 million.
NFL salary cap expert Joel Corry says that number will be $6.5 million as part of Solder’s bonus proration.
$6.5M of bonus proration remains on Giants books. https://t.co/1jFP0AWzJ9
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) July 29, 2020
However, Art Stapleton of USA TODAY reports that the dead cap hit is slightly less — $6 million — and that the Giants will received roughly $13 million in total salary cap relief.
Solder was scheduled to represent a $19.5 million hit against the salary cap in 2020, and he received a $3 million roster bonus back in March. His base salary of $9.9 million will come off the books, so that is the minimum number for cap relief. There is likely a dead money cap hit of roughly $6 million that stays due to the Giants’ restructuring of Solder’s contract, so expect the amount of space freed up to be around $13 million.
While many are hoping the Giants use that money to splurge, it’s more likely they carry it over into next season to help balance against a cap that is expected to decrease due to lost revenue as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bottom line is that Solder’s opt-out does not give the Giants free money. If they spend it this year, they won’t have it next year. If they save it this year, they can use it on Solder next year, which seems like the smarter financial choice given the salary cap volatility.
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