ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the Detroit Lions and quarterback Matthew Stafford have agreed to restructure his contract ahead of the 2020 season.
“Lions’ QB Matthew Stafford restructured his contract this week, converting his $7.8 million base salary into signing bonus, per source,” Schefter reported. “Here’s the thinking: the Lions get cap relief and Stafford gets the guarantee of that money in the event any games are canceled due to COVID.”
This is a common strategy that teams use with high salaries tied to players who they plan on keeping on their roster through the end of their contract — for Stafford that is currently 2022.
For the team, they will gain space by reducing the $7.8 million to a base number — will get the exact salary once the contract adjustment is made public — which will likely be somewhere in the $6.5 to $7 million range for gained space. After the base salary is established, the remaining salary will be converted into a bonus and spread out over the remaining years of his contract — which may include 2023 as that is already being used as a voidable year.
For Stafford, he gets all of that money immediately and the luxury of having more guarantees pushed into the future, which should give him more job security.