The Philadelphia Eagles are facing some looming salary cap decisions and keeping their best defensive player around could free up some cash.
The Eagles are among the NFL teams that would be most affected by a reduced 2021 salary cap due to fans not being able to attend home games during the pandemic.
Per Over The Cap, the Eagles are set to be $50.6 million over the salary cap in 2021, with the next closest team, the New Orleans Saints, only projected to be over the cap by $9.5 million.
Next season (2021), the Eagles could have 12+ or more players making $10+ million or more as well.
Fletcher Cox is one of those 12 players and according to Zach Berman of The Athletic, a huge 2020 season from the star defensive tackle could allow the Eagles to reduce his cap number while giving the All-Pro more years and security on his deal.
Cox’s situation is trickier. He turns 30 in December and had a down year based on his standards. But if he returns to form and the Eagles expect him to be on the roster for a few more seasons, they can extend his deal and adjust his $22.48 million cap number. So those are the two obvious places for reworked deals.
Cox would certainly take the security of more money spread out over banking on the Eagles or another team ponying up $22 million per season in this financial climate. He’s still the best defensive tackle in the NFL behind Aaron Donald and still looks to be dominant as he heads into his 30s.
The Eagles signed Fletcher Cox to a 6 year, $102.6 million contract extension in 2016. According to Over The Cap, the Eagles converted $14.67 million of his 2019 salary to an option bonus and 2020 is the final year he’s due guaranteed money.
If the league and TV partners bring in less revenue due to games either being canceled or no fans in attendance, the salary cap could drop significantly to the tune of “$30 to $80 million” less per team.
The Eagles are currently scheduled to pay out $263.3 million in 2021 and if they were forced to reduce that space to about $210 million, it would likely require the restructuring of several big-named contracts.
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