Breaking down Amon-Ra St. Brown’s record-setting contract extension with the Lions
The Detroit Lions interrupted the NFL draft conversation on Wednesday by locking up All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to a massive new contract extension. The deal locks up St. Brown through the 2028 season and includes the biggest amount of guaranteed money for any wide receiver in NFL history.
Per Spotrac, the new contract details show some cap creativity from the Lions. The deal is for $120.01 million over four years at the end of his current contract, which expires after the 2024 season. His salary cap hit for 2024 remains a relatively paltry $4.8 million.
After that, the cap hits escalate quickly thanks to the $77 million in guaranteed money, which includes a $16.6 million signing bonus. Only the prorated part of the signing bonus gets tacked onto the Lions cap in 2024.
The cap hit in the subsequent seasons, from Spotrac:
2025: $13.9M
2026: $33.1M
2027: $28.9M
2028: $41M
As is becoming the norm for the Lions and their contracts, they tacked on one void year to help spread out the cap hit even longer. The 2029 season voids and will cost Detroit $1.7 million in dead cap that year.
Jared Goff says ‘there have been discussions’ about a contract extension with the Lions
One of the hot topics all offseason has been the contract status of Lions quarterback Jared Goff. The Pro Bowler is under contract through the 2024 season and is set to earn a $22.3 million salary and $32.3 million salary cap hit in the final year of the four-year, $134 million contract he signed with the Los Angeles Rams.
One year out is typically when top-notch players get extensions, and Goff has proven to be just that for Detroit. Despite all the fan and media consternation about his status, Goff has been pretty quiet about any extension talks. Unconfirmed reports and speculation peg any extension in the $45-50 million per year range for Goff, who is still just 29 years old.
Goff typically eschews talking about his contract, but he did acknowledge there have been talks with the Lions about a potential contract extension. He met with the media during the team’s voluntary workouts this week.
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“There have been discussions. But I’ll leave it at that,” Goff told reporters on Tuesday.
Goff also added this about playing in Detroit, dispelling any notion that he would want to leave the Lions,
“It’s been amazing, man. I love it here and I would love to be here for a long time. Really special, like I said, to play in front of these fans. Being able to provide a winning culture in the last year-and-a-half or so and see them experience that and be a part of that has been fun. By no means are we satisfied, or happy to be here or any of that. It’s about what’s next.”
The Minnesota Vikings continue to structure their contracts to be flexible, adding four void years to Aaron Jones’ deal.
The Minnesota Vikings had to find a way to maneuver with all of their free agent signings and the salary cap. What better way to do that than to create void years and spread the money out. They did that with outside linebackers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, but general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah didn’t stop there.
Running back Aaron Jones’ contract employs four void years to maintain flexibility both in 2024 and potentially beyond. Here is how Over The Cap has his contract laid out.
2024 base salary: $2 million
$4 million signing bonus spread out over five years with four void years
$850K per-game roster bonus and $150K workout bonus fully guaranteed
$3.5 million salary cap charge in 2024
$3.2 million dead-cap hit in 2025
The Vikings have structured this deal for maximum flexibility but also have it built in to bring back Jones if the 2024 season goes well. Now, Jones wouldn’t be the type of player you would give a long-term extension to, but a one- or two-year deal at the right price would make sense.
The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling reveals the terms of David Quessenbery’s contract as he re-signs with the Minnesota Vikings
One of the more fun exercises in free agency is figuring out how these free agency contracts are structured and how the money is allocated to the player.
The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling gives an in-depth look at the one-year contract given to David Quessenberry to re-sign with the Minnesota Vikings. According to Goessling, Quessenberry’s deal is a one-year, $1.885 million deal, with $1.375 million guaranteed.
The contract also comes with a $625,000 signing bonus, a $1.210 million base salary ($750,000 guaranteed) and a $50,000 workout bonus with up to $200,000 in incentives.
Minnesota’s offensive line was one of the more stout in the NFL last season, ranking as the tenth-best offensive line at the end of the season, according to Pro Football Network. One of the concerns for the unit heading into this season was the depth behind the starting five. Re-signing both Quessenberry and Blake Brandel was a major step in fortifying the interior and keeping continuity along the line.
Details of Johnny Mundt’s contract revealed by the Star Tribune
When the Minnesota Vikings re-signed Johnny Mundt to a one-year contract, the details of the deal were mostly unknown.
The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling gave a more in-depth look at the terms of the re-signing. According to Goessling, Mundt will earn $2 million this year with a $1.125 million base salary, $85,000 in per-game roster bonuses and $40,000 in workout bonuses. He also has a $750,000 signing bonus and up to $500,000 in performance incentives.
Slightly over the predicted number of $1.5 million, Mundt’s cap hit will be $2 million.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell labeled Mundt “the best tight end three” in the NFL, and the front office rewarded him as such. Since joining the Vikings in 2022, Mundt has been a consistent contributor to the offense behind T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver.
With Hockenson’s return up in the air, the Vikings needed to secure depth in the tight end room. Because of his familiarity with the system and O’Connell, Mundt’s deal was a priority this offseason for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings brass.
The free agent safety market is flush with talent. How does that impact Minnesota Vikings S Harrison Smith and a potential pay cut?
The Minnesota Vikings have a decision to make with future Ring of Honor and potential Hall of Fame safety Harrison Smith. In 2023, the two sides agreed to a nearly $7 million pay cut that kept him around. He rewarded them with a good season and helped lead the Vikings to the 17th-ranked scoring defense.
Smith has a salary cap hit of $19,215,882 with a base salary of $14.45 million. This is similar to what his cap numbers looked like last year before it dropped to $7.5 million. The Vikings will likely approach him for another pay cut. SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson said as much during his weekly appearance on the Minnesota Sports with Mackey and Judd podcast.
“At this point, I’ll be surprised [if Smith retires]. He took a pretty decent paycut a year ago. To me, he’d have to take an even bigger paycut so we will see how that remains to be seen how that plays out. I’m just saying, I’d be pretty darn surprised if he just walks away… He loves playing for Brian Flores. Brian Flores loves him. But can he win at the level he wants to win at here in 2024. That, to me, is the question to ponder; not whether or not he is going to retire.”
That is a similar sentiment to what happened last year with his last pay cut. No matter what, Smith will have a cap charge of at least $3,915,882 due to his prorated bonus. If they were to cut or trade him, that cap hit would be $7,831,766. Those are important to note, as is a cut would save the Vikings $11,384,116.
How much could the Vikings ask Smith to trim from his salary on a pay cut? That could be a significant amount when you take a look at the safety market. Heading into free agency, the amount of 2024 cash saved is nearly $40 million more than the second-highest position with $103.25 million in money saved for teams.
Total 2024 salary shed now at safety has now crossed nine figures, at $103.25M.
I don't know if I can ever remember any single position in any other season suffer this much cutting. pic.twitter.com/ScEhW3mpAF
This could force Smith’s hand a little bit. Then again, he doesn’t strike me as a guy who wants to leave as Wolfson mentioned above. It will come down to how both sides will approach a potential pay cut. My best guess is that he will end up with a pay cut closer to what the cap saving would be if they cut him, likely around the $7-9 million mark. That would help the Vikings and Smith still has some gas left in the tank even at age 35 but a flush safety market that seems to be significantly undervalued by teams.
Should Smith take a pay cut? Considering the market out there, it might be in his best interest as he might not get a better contract elsewhere.
The Minnesota Vikings and Marcus Davenport have agreed to move the void date back to maximize flexibiilty.
With the deadline approaching with Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Marcus Davenport’s contract voiding on Monday, February 19th, both sides agreed to extend the void date to March 13th. That is the same day as both quarterback Kirk Cousins and outside linebacker Danielle Hunter. The news was reported by ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.
The Vikings did the same thing last year with Dalvin Tomlinson in hopes of getting a contract extension done.
Of course, both players had their void dates under different circumstances. Tomlinson had two really good seasons for the Vikings and ended up getting a massive contract from the Cleveland Browns. Davenport is coming off of an injury-riddled season where Davenport only played in four games dealing with two ankle injuries.
By extending the void date on the contract, Davenport’s $6.8 million in dead money won’t officially hit the books until that March 13th date. If the Vikings and Davenport agree on an extension before the contract voids, only $1.7 million of that dead money will impact the 2024 salary cap.
The experts at Over The Cap calculated contract values for the New Orleans Saints’ top pending free agents. Here’s what they may see on the open market:
With free agency coming up, it’s time to take stock on some of the top pending free agents from the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints’ front office did a good job of targeting the big names before the 2023 season as Carl Granderson and Cesar Ruiz are taken care of, along with Cameron Jordan, Zach Wood, and some other players they would have had to re-sign this year. Still, there are more players who could either come back or get signed away that would impact the team.
Here are where there market value could stand for those players as the Saints decide who they want to pursue in contract extension talks. All valuations are from Over The Cap, it is hard to know exactly what these players will get next year but here is a possible idea for the top guys:
The Saints signed all but three practice squad players to reserve/future deals, bringing them back for 2024:
This may look unusual, but it isn’t uncommon. The New Orleans Saints signed reserve/future deals with all but three players from their 2023 practice squad — essentially inviting those 13 players who are returning to their 2024 training camp. Everyone who was on the practice squad except for offensive lineman Colby Gossett, wide receiver Marquez Callaway, and rookie receiver Shaquan Davis are inked to return in 2024.
But this doesn’t shut the door on anyone. Teams often issue reserve/future contracts (which are just minimum-salary deals that guarantee players a spot on the 90-man offseason roster) in batches, and they’ll likely circle back to Davis and Co. after handling other business. They’re able to work out other players who didn’t sign reserve/future deals around the league after their practice squad contracts expired.
Davis specifically endeared himself to Saints fans during the 2023 preseason by catching 7 passes for 101 yards, largely from the slot. The former undrafted rookie from South Carolina State has rare size at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, but a midseason injury sidelined him. Hopefully he can return for 2024 and compete for more snaps.
Here’s a quick look back at the 13 players who did sign reserve/future contracts with New Orleans:
Despite not having the greatest salary cap health, the Vikings are getting the most out of their contracts
OverTheCap.com’s Jason Fitzgerald put a dollar value to a team’s on the field performance using a mixture of positional value and Pro Football Focus and their evaluation process. OverTheCap calls it a team’s Overall Value in their Team Valuation metrics.
According to Over The Cap the Vikings are getting a bang for their buck this season, ranking ninth in overall value through week two.
Ranked ahead of them are teams like the Miami Dolphins, Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts. The Dolphins are getting their money’s worth out of trio of Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Like the Dolphins, the Commanders and Colts are also getting instant contributions from quarterbacks on their rookie deals.
Minnesota’s top player in overall value is Kirk Cousins, with a value of $43.06M. However, when it comes to players outplaying their contracts, their is the superstar Justin Jefferson, who is making around $3.28M but has an overall value closer to $26.44M. Ivan Pace also is notably on this list for his overall value being closer to $18.97M and making less than $1M this season.
