The Buffalo Bills and defensive tackle Star Lotulelei have restructured his contract on Tuesday. The 30-year-old’s contract is amongst the largest on the team’s roster.
ESPN’s Field Yates reported the rework, which has three more years attached to it. In the restructure, Lotulelei is guaranteed he’ll be on the Bills roster next season since the entire thing becomes guaranteed. The Bills also tacked on a $2.5 million injury guarantee for the 2021 season as well. There were no other guaranteed money totals left on the final two seasons of Lotulelei’s deal.
In exchange, the Bills will see his base salary drop from $6.25 million to $4.5 million.
The Bills and starting DT Star Lotulelei have agreed to a restructured contract for the final three years of his deal.
For 2020, Lotulelei’s base salary drops by $1.75M, but becomes fully guaranteed, with $2.5M in injury guarantees for 2021 added. Some benefit for both sides.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 11, 2020
Since signing with the Bills, Lotulelei hasn’t missed a single game over the course of the past two years. He has 36 tackles, two sacks and an interception during his time in Buffalo.
Lotulelei’s job on Buffalo’s defense line has been to eat up blockers and help out those around him. He could hold the key to a breakout season for fellow defensive tackle Ed Oliver next to him in 2020.
Prior to restructuring his contract for the upcoming season, Lotulelei had the second-highest salary cap hit on the Bills, behind Mitch Morse. However, Morse, along the offensive line, would play 100 percent of snaps when healthy. Lotulelei, along the rotational line on defense, has played in 47 percent and 46 percent of defensive snaps with the Bills the past two seasons, respectively.
Lotulelei’s cap hit now drops from $10.1 million to $8.35 million next season. That drops his cap hit to the sixth-highest, giving the Bills some more wiggle room as free agency approaches in March.
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