restructure – Syndication Server

Report: Saints reworking their contract with safety Tyrann Mathieu

This is interesting: NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that the New Orleans Saints are negotiating what he calls a “reworked contract” with starting safety Tyrann Mathieu. This comes after the Saints informed Mathieu’s co-starter Marcus Maye that he would be released at the start of the new league year on March 13, joining a large crowd of soon-to-be free agent safeties.

It’s no surprise that the Saints are taking a hard look at Mathieu’s contract. His $12 million salary cap hit is among the highest on the team and they still need to reach cap compliance before free agency kicks off next week. Restructuring his contract would save up to $5.8 million against the cap. An extension, if structured well, could free up to $6.2 million. A pay cut is also an option but it carries a wide range of outcomes.

What’s intriguing is Underhill’s wording — this doesn’t sound like a typical restructure where the Saints would convert most of Mathieu’s $7 million base salary into a signing bonus and pay it out in installments. Oftentimes a reworked deal means either a pay cut, conversion of salary into incentives, or an extension.

And keep in mind that we’re speculating here, but that last point might be the key. Mathieu is entering the final year of his contract. Most of the money the Saints would save now by restructuring him would hit the books next season if he isn’t re-signed. If the plan is to retain him anyway, simply signing him to an extension now and moving money around — effectively reworking the deal — would make the most sense for both sides.

Mathieu played well in 2023. His 4 interceptions were tied with cornerback Paulson Adebo for the team lead. He tied slot corner Alontae Taylor with 75 combined tackles (fifth-most), 50 of them solo (also fifth). He’ll turn 32 in May and working out a new deal to insure he’ll finish his career playing for his hometown team would be a fantastic story.

But this could just as easily be a pay cut. Hopefully that’s not the case, though Underhill adds that Mathieu is working with the Saints to push negotiations across the finish line. He’s been a good pickup and it would be great to see him close out the final chapter of his playing career in front of a friendly crowd. Stay tuned.

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Twitter reacts to the Saints restructuring Derek Carr’s contract

Fans and analysts on Twitter had mixed reactions to the Saints restructuring Derek Carr’s contract, locking him in as their starter for the foreseeable future:

We all saw this coming: the New Orleans Saints restructured their contract with Derek Carr on Friday, locking him in as their starter for the foreseeable future. And that led to a range of mixed reactions from fans and analysts on social media. Here’s what was being said on Twitter about the Saints’ latest salary cap gymnastics:

Saints work towards salary cap compliance by restructuring Nathan Shepherd

The New Orleans Saints are continuing to work towards salary cap compliance by restructuring their contract with Nathan Shepherd:

Here’s your next New Orleans Saints salary cap maneuver: ESPN’s Field Yates reports that the team restructured their contract with defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd to save “just north of $3 (million)” following similar moves with quarterback Derek Carr and center Erik McCoy. Another restructure with right guard Cesar Ruiz is also in the works, per ESPN.

There’s just one thing: the math doesn’t check out for this to yield more than $3 million in savings. Shepherd was due $4.1 million in base salary with a $1 million signing bonus payout in 2024 prior to this restructure, which made for a $5.1 million cap hit. Lowering his salary to the minimum ($1.125 million) and converting the difference into a new signing bonus ($2.975 million paid out over five years for accounting purposes) would yield $2.23 million in savings, dropping his cap hit from $5.1 million to just $2.72 million.

So maybe that’s a typo or mistake from Yates. $2.23 million could be credibly described as “just north of” $2 million. We’ll see if Yates shares a clarification or if there’s something else going on here. Either way, whether it’s $2 million or $3 million, every dollar counts for the Saints. Few teams spend more than they do.

Shepherd’s base salary for 2024 was already guaranteed when he signed with the Saints last year, so he was going to get this money regardless. It’s just being paid out differently to better work around the salary cap. After restructuring their deals with Shepherd, Carr, and McCoy with Ruiz’s expected restructure factoring in, the Saints should be over the cap by about $33.2 million. That’s already $50 million less than where they started in offsesason projections.

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Report: Saints plan to restructure their contract with guard Cesar Ruiz

ESPN reports the New Orleans Saints plan to restructure their contract with right guard Cesar Ruiz, saving another chunk of salary cap resources:

More moves are coming for the New Orleans Saints as they continue to work to reach salary cap compliance — ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that the Saints plan to restructure their contract with right guard Cesar Ruiz, having already done so with quarterback Derek Carr and center Erik McCoy.

Ruiz signed a deal last summer that was primed for restructure: his extension included a league-minimum base salary in 2024 along with an $8 million roster bonus. In order to restructure his contract, the Saints are going to have to convert that roster bonus into a signing bonus and pay it out over the four years remaining on Ruiz’s contract, which will save $6,580,000 against the cap this year. It’s a smart move since the money was already promised, it’s just being paid out in a way that makes life easier for the team’s accountants.

According to estimates from the experts at Over The Cap, the Saints were in the red by about $53.7 million after restructuring their contracts with Carr and McCoy. Adding Ruiz to the list will drop them down to approximately $47.2 million. Still a ways to go before reaching salary cap compliance (with more needed to sign veteran free agents), but already nearly half where they started the offseason, without cutting a single player. This has been the plan all along. We’ll have to see if the changes to the coaching staff can make enough improvements to justify it.

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Saints no longer lead the league in negative salary cap space

The Saints are no longer 32nd in negative salary cap space. After restructuring Derek Carr and Erik McCoy, they moved up to 31st:

Ring the bell: the New Orleans Saints are no longer ranked 32nd among the NFL’s 32 teams in negative salary cap space. After restructuring their contracts with starting quarterback Derek Carr and Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy, they moved up to 31st.

The experts at Over The Cap track every transaction and contract tweak around the NFL, and they estimate the Saints to now be in the red by just $53.7 million — a big jump after New Orleans started the offseason with about $83 million in expenditures keeping them over the salary cap. Two conversations with Carr and McCoy wiped out nearly $30 million in 48 hours.

Sure, they still have a lot to figure out with $53.7 million in negative cap space. But that isn’t the worst number in the league anymore. The Buffalo Bills are now in last-place with an estimated $55.1 million, per OTC. And the Saints are going to be busy working towards cap compliance.

There’s just one other thing: we don’t know yet what the salary cap will be in 2024. OTC works with an estimated figure of $242 million, based off the rise in past years. We do know the cap will continue rising — it’s forecast to reach $300 million in the near future — the question is how high. Some reports suggest it may approach $250 million this season. With the Saints currently putting roughly $295.7 million on the books, every dollar counts. Look for more restructures and contract adjustments in the days ahead, with the league office expected to announce this year’s salary cap during or after the NFL Scouting Combine next week.

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Saints restructure Derek Carr’s contract for 2024, as expected

ESPN reports the New Orleans Saints are restructuring Derek Carr’s contract. The move frees up cap resources this offseason and gives Carr more security:

Here it is: the New Orleans Saints are restructuring their contract with quarterback Derek Carr on Friday, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. This was the expected move. Beyond being laid out in the initial structure of Carr’s deal, Nola.com’s Luke Johnson previously reported that the Saints intended to follow through on it. The end result: Carr gets more financial security in the future, while the Saints get more salary cap resources to work with this offseason.

Carr’s $35.7 million salary cap hip was the highest on the team, so they had to make a change. By reducing his $30 million base salary to the league minimum and paying out the difference as a signing bonus — which, remember, is not a pay cut — the Saints are bring Carr’s 2024 cap hit down to just over $12.6 million.

This was the expected move all along. The Saints had already guaranteed Carr’s salary for 2024 and restructuring like this makes it easier to pay that out from an accounting perspective; the $23 million saved will go towards reaching cap compliance and adding more help in free agency.

But that’s not to say it comes without cost. Restructuring Carr’s contract like this will add $4.6 million in proration to each year remaining on his contract, which raises his salary cap hits in 2025 and 2026 to $50.3 million and $60.3 million, respectively. If the Saints don’t touch Carr’s contract again after this and have him play on those massive cap hits (which they won’t), he’ll leave behind more than $19.5 million in dead money when his deal voids in 2027.

Again, that’s not going to happen. We’ll very likely be back here next year for this same restructure strategy, kicking the can down the road in accordance with the rise of the salary cap. One thing to note: Carr has a $10 million roster bonus due in 2025 which will become guaranteed on March 15, 2024, so the Saints are only tying themselves closer to him by restructuring their contract. Hopefully Carr can perform as well as expected with Klint Kubiak calling plays to justify these costs.

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Saints kick off their annual restructures with Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy

The Saints kicked off their annual salary cap strategy by restructuring their contract with Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy:

The New Orleans Saints kicked off their annual salary cap strategy with Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy, agreeing to a contract restructure that guarantees McCoy his money while helping the team’s accountants.

Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Saints are saving $7.18 million by restructuring McCoy’s contract — which they’ve done by converting most of his base salary and a $500,000 roster bonus due in March into a new signing bonus, adding a void year to spread out the signing bonus proration. The end result: McCoy’s salary cap hit drops from $13.7 million to about $6.5 million for 2024. He’s under contract through 2027.

McCoy earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl Games in 2023 as an injury replacement, and he was the Saints’ steadiest offensive lineman during their recent tumultuous season. They’ll be counting on him to anchor the middle of the line from the pivot spot for the foreseeable future. With Derek Carr returning at quarterback and Klint Kubiak installing his offense, having McCoy at the point is going to be good for all involved.

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As expected, Saints will likely restructure Derek Carr’s contract

As expected, the Saints will likely restructure Derek Carr’s contract and tie themselves to the QB through 2025:

This was the way the wind was blowing: the Times-Picayune’s Luke Johnson reports that the New Orleans Saints are likely restructuring their contract with Derek Carr this offseason, which will bring the team much-needed salary cap relief while tying themselves closer to the quarterback. His contract would effectively become guaranteed through 2025.

Carr currently has a salary cap hit at $35.7 million, highest on the team. A standard restructure would reduce his already-guaranteed base salary from $30 million to the veteran’s minimum and pay the difference out as a signing bonus, which is prorated over the next five years. That lowers his cap hit down to about $12.6 million in 2024, saving the Saints more than $23 million this year. This was the plan all along — committing to Carr with heavy guarantees through his first two years. That’s how they got him to sign here instead of with, say, the New York Jets or Carolina Panthers.

Now, New Orleans would still be in the red by more than $60 million after restructuring Carr. The Saints would still by higher over the cap by a higher figure than any other team; the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins both need to clear about $51 million to reach cap compliance. There’s a lot of work still to be done. This is just the first big step.

The downside to doing this? Carr’s cap charges in 2025 ($45.7 million) and 2026 ($55.7 million) go even higher, increasing by about $5.7 million in each season. Because this money was already guaranteed, just paid out differently for accounting purposes, it’s more difficult to get out of Carr’s contract later on. If he fails to improve with a new offensive coordinator in the fall then general manager Mickey Loomis will be left with an albatross around his neck. Releasing Carr before his contract expires would accelerate all of those $5.7 million signing bonus payouts into the current year rather than scratching them out over time.

It’s more complicated if you look further out. If Carr is on the roster by March 17, 2025 then his $30 million salary for that season will become fully-guaranteed, too. Let’s say the Saints do restructure Carr this offseason, which is what’s expected. That puts his 2025 cap hit at more than $51.4 million. They’ll have to make a decision next year on whether to cut him (to negligible salary cap benefit) or restructure him again. Knowing Loomis, the latter route is more likely.

Carr was always going to be in New Orleans for at least 2023 and 2024. Restructuring his contract now makes it highly likely he’ll be the quarterback again in 2025. His current deal runs out in 2027. Who knows what the team looks like at that point? Loomis and Dennis Allen could both be gone. But Carr, and all the money they chose to invest in him, will remain. Let’s hope he can carry his strong finish to the 2023 season — Carr led the league in touchdown passes through the final five weeks — over into the years ahead with a new offensive coordinator calling plays, making this big contract a little more palatable.

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Saints’ NFL-worst salary cap situation isn’t as bad as it looks

The Saints have the worst salary cap situation in the league — on paper. But this year’s challenges aren’t as daunting as they’ve overcome before:

It’s another year with Mickey Loomis running the New Orleans Saints, which means it’s another offseason with 31 teams having more salary cap space to work with — on paper. The experts at Over The Cap estimate that the Saints are in the red by $83.6 million, assuming the cap rises to $242 million. That’s based off the $20 million leap it made last year.

And yeah, that’s a challenging situation to work with. But it’s not as daunting as some of the hurdles we’ve seen the Saints overcome before. There just aren’t many outgoing free agents that New Orleans will have to bid against other teams for; left tackle Andrus Peat, wide receiver Michael Thomas and quarterback Jameis Winston are the highest priorities to re-sign and none of them are ranked as top-100 free agents at Pro Football Focus.

So how will the Saints chip away at that $83.6 million and get under the cap? Expect them to start with their usual strategies of restructuring high base salaries into signing bonuses for key players like linebacker Demario Davis (saving about $8.1 million), defensive end Carl Granderson (yielding $7.2 million) and safety Tyrann Mathieu ($5.8 million in savings). The big domino is quarterback Derek Carr. His contract is set up for a restructure that would save more than $23 million against the cap, but it would basically guarantee a third year with him under center. If the Saints are confident he can carry his strong finish to the 2023 season over into 2024, they shouldn’t hesitate to pull that lever.

Those four moves get the Saints halfway to the finish line by themselves. There are other restructures in the cards but tougher negotiations on pay cuts with underperforming veterans have to be considered, too; it’s tough to justify high salaries for players who have missed a lot of time with injuries or suspensions, or who just haven’t met expectations. Hopefully things can work out differently so guys can help the team without losing money.

Our point here is that the Saints can reach cap compliance and then make room without losing many key free agents or cutting foundational players. They won’t have to kick off a fire sale (or, more accurately, they can’t, because of unique contract structures) to go the distance. They’ll get under the cap and add players in free agency.

The concern is whether all that hard work is worth it for a Dennis Allen-led team that hasn’t gotten to the playoffs with some of the easiest schedules in the league the last two years. Going all-in like this is smart when the team is competitive and winning playoff games. If the Saints can’t reach the postseason, what’s the point in all these cap gymnastics?

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Broncos could save $48M in cap space with simple restructures

The Broncos could save more than $48 million in salary cap space with simple restructures this offseason.

The Denver Broncos are projected to be $24 million over the salary cap this offseason, leaving the team to make some tough decisions.

The Broncos could make some creative contract adjustments this spring to create more salary cap space. One way Denver could save cap space is through simple restructures, according to OverTheCap.com.

In a simple restructure, the Broncos can take payments and convert them into a signing bonus that is prorated into cap hits over the course of the contract. For example, a $4 million salary could be converted into a $3 million signing bonus that would be prorated as $1 million cap hits over the next three years (dropping the 2024 cap hit from $4 million to $2 million).

Maximum restructures are more complicated. In a max restructure, cap hits are prorated into the future by either giving a player an extension or adding void years to a contract.

Denver could save $48,265,444 in cap space this year through simple restructures, according to OTC. The team could create $112,019,979 through maximum restructures.

Here’s a quick look at 10 ways the Broncos could create more cap space either through simple restructures or extensions, courtesy of OTC.