Being the ultimate team player for the Minnesota Vikings has been a theme in the history of Harrison Smith’s career. He took a sizable pay cut in 2023 and did so again this season.
The details for his $5.45 million pay cut have been revealed and they are very interesting.
- 2024 base salary dropped from $14.9 million to $1.49 million
- $7 million signing bonus
- $510k in per game roster bonuses
- 2024 salary cap hit: $7.315 million, down nearly $12 million
- 3 void years added
- 2025 base salary dropped from $19 million to $1.255 million
The way this contract is structured leads us to believe that Smith is likely going to retire after the season. The Vikings could designate Smith as a post-June 1st cut once the 2025 league year starts and save $4.2 million on the salary cap with a cap hit of just $5,315,884.
At 35 years old, Smith is nearing the end of his career and it’s not uncommon for players to make their contracts team friendly at the end to minimize the salary cap impact. Aaron Donald did as such before he retired last week.