The Chargers have restructured the contract of wide receiver Eddie Royal, reports Michael Gehlkin of the U-T San Diego. The receiver was set to make $4.5MM in base salary next salary, with $6MM counting against the cap. Given the high number, Royal’s return to San Diego was questionable. It appears that question has been answered, although the specifics of the new deal are not yet known.
Royal was entering the final season of his contract and it’s unknown whether the restructuring will extend Royal’s deal. Cutting Royal would have saved the team $4.5MM in cap room, but would have cost the team $1.5MM in dead money.
Gehlkin believes that Royal’s restructuring may have helped in the Chargers keeping linebacker Donald Butler, who announced his re-signing with the team last week. Gehlkin refers to a Butler tweet to Royal from earlier today: “preciate u restructuring urs for me bruh!” Royal responded by tweeting “worked out for both of us.”
Royal had 47 catches for 631 yards last season while also grabbing a career-high eight touchdowns.