The Green Bay Packers have officially signed fourth-round pick Evan Williams. Over the Cap now has the details on what Williams’ rookie deal will look like.
Williams earned a standard four-year rookie contract that totals $4.822 million with a signing bonus of $802,880.
Williams will receive the full signing bonus up front, but from a salary cap perspective, that $802,880 can be pro-rated over the life of the contract. Or, in short, the cap hit in 2024 from that bonus is just $200,720.
That pro-rated signing bonus amount plus a base salary of $795,000 makes up Williams’ cap hit for this season, which totals $995,720.
Moving forward, beyond 2024, a $200,720 cap hit from the pro-rated signing bonus will be on the Packers’ books all four years of the contract, along with Williams’ base salary increasing each year as well.
In 2025, Williams’ base salary will be $960,000. In 2026 it increases to $1.075 million, and then $1.190 million in 2027.
Here is a look at what Williams’ cap hit will be each season:
2024: $995,720
2025: $1.160 million
2026: $1.275 million
2027: $1.390 million
Like Xavier McKinney and Javon Bullard, Williams brings added versatility to the Packers secondary, filling that ‘interchangeable’ mold at the safety position that GM Brian Gutekunst was looking for. While most of Williams’ snaps in college came as a free safety or in the box, the Packers project that he can also play out of the slot, based on his movement skills.
Williams did a little bit of everything during his time at either Fresno State or Oregon. He was a sound tackler, a willing run defender, he found success these past two seasons as a blitzer, and always seemed to be around the football.
“He’s a downhill, come-and-get-it kind of guy,” added Packers VP of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan. “He plays quick. He plays fast. But really, I think the thing that jumped out to us was every game you watch, he’s got an aggressive play style. He comes downhill and puts his face on you and we thought that would bode well within this defense with what we already have out there.”