The offseason for the Indianapolis Colts changed a bit on Tuesday when left tackle Anthony Castonzo announced his retirement from the NFL after 10 seasons anchoring the left side of the offensive line.
Though there are some options the Colts can consider to replace the 32-year old, there is also the question of how this move will impact the salary cap for Indy.
In short, it doesn’t have a negative impact at all.
Losing a bonafide starting left tackle is never easy, but the Colts won’t be hurting in the salary cap department because of this move. Thanks to the way the Colts set up his latest two-year extension, which he signed before the 2020 season, the Colts won’t owe any dead cap money.
On top of that, the Colts will gain an extra $16 million in salary-cap space. They were already projected to be amongst the leaders in salary-cap space, and now this simply helps their cause even more.
What the Colts did with Castonzo’s contract helped prevent any negative ramifications in case he did decide to retire. Having that foresight paid huge dividends.
The Colts signed Castonzo to a two-year deal worth $33 million with $17 million guaranteed. The Colts front-loaded that guaranteed money in the first year of the deal, which meant the only money they would have to pay in 2021 would be the base salary ($10 million) and the roster bonus ($6 million). With the guaranteed money out of the way, the $16 million comes back to the Colts for this offseason.
It’s sad to see Castonzo go, but he gave the Colts 10 seasons of above-average play at the left tackle position. Indy will have some big decisions to make in order to replace him, but they won’t be cap-strained in doing so.
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