The Indianapolis Colts restructured the contract of quarterback Matt Ryan on Thursday by converting $12 million of his 2022 compensation into a signing bonus in order to create more salary-cap space.
Because that $12 million will spread out over the remainder of Ryan’s contract, which is the next two seasons, the Colts saved $6 million against the salary cap.
According to Over The Cap, the Colts are sitting with $21.8 million in salary-cap space following the restructure. That’s good for the eighth-most in the NFL.
The restructure brings Ryan’s cap hit in 2022 down from $24.7 million to $18.7 million. Conversely, it will raise his cap hit in 2023 from $28.7 million to $35.7 million.
With the salary cap expected to go up even more in 2023, this likely won’t be as big of an issue as it may seem on the surface.
The Colts still have some needs to fill in free agency before the draft arrives at the end of April. Even with Matt Pryor getting the first shot at the starting left tackle spot, they could add some depth there.
The Colts also need to bring in a veteran wide receiver to run alongside Michael Pittman Jr. and while it’s highly likely they spend a Day 2 pick on a prospect, they can’t go into the season with Parris Campbell as the WR2.
It will be interesting to see how active the Colts are over the next month before the draft but with some new money added to the cap space, they can be a bit more flexible now.
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