As of Tuesday afternoon, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has the biggest cap hit among NFL players under contract for the 2021 season.
The Atlanta Falcons restructured Matt Ryan’s contract, lowering his cap number from $40.9 million to $26.9 million, per Over the Cap. As a result, Rodgers now holds the top spot at $37.2 million.
With a league-wide salary cap of $182.5 million, Rodgers accounts for roughly 20 percent of the Packers’ salary cap this season, per Over the Cap.
The Packers could follow the Falcons and lower Rodgers’ cap number in 2021, potentially even significantly. The MVP’s contract has a base salary of $14.7 million and a roster bonus due Friday of $6.8 million. Both could be converted into a signing bonus, prorating the money over the length of his deal and lowering his cap hit this year.
The Packers, despite restructuring numerous deals over the last week, are still over the salary cap with one day remaining before the start of the new league year. Converting some of Rodgers’ deal into a signing bonus could be part of the equation as the Packers attempt to get back under the cap before Wednesday afternoon.
The danger in a restructure for Rodgers is pushing more cap dollars to the future. His cap hit is already scheduled to be $39.8 million in 2022, the fourth-highest among quarterbacks. A restructure would push Rodgers’ cap hit next season well over $40 million. However, the league’s cap will rise in 2022, lessening some of the effects. But the Packers also have a lot of money already tied up in players next season.
As of Tuesday, only three quarterbacks have a cap hit over $30 million in 2021: Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins.
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