Salary Cap - Pro Football Rumors

2025 Salary Cap Set At $279.2MM

February 27th, 2025 at 12:38pm CST by Adam La Rose

With the new league year not far away, teams have found out exactly what the cap ceiling is for the coming campaign. The NFL and NFLPA have arrived at a 2025 cap of $279.2MM, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The league has since confirmed the news.

In December, clubs were planning on seeing a jump to the $265MM-$275MM range. More recently, a league memo made it clear a larger increase was coming. The 2025 cap was known to be checking in between $277.5MM and $281.5MM as of last week, and now a final figure has emerged. This represents another new water mark in spending limits as the NFL’s revenue continues to soar.

Last year saw a record jump in the salary cap, as it spiked by $30.6MM to $255.4MM. This time around, a $23.8MM increase will give teams more spending power on the open market and a stronger chance of retaining pending free agents. For the top players set to become available next month in particular, today’s news confirms that lucrative new deals await them.

The 2011 CBA brought about gradual growth in the cap compared to the spikes seen since the ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement in 2020. The pandemic led to a temporary drop in the cap ceiling, but since then the league has seen considerable jumps on an annual basis. The expansion of the regular season to 17 games and adding two contests to wild-card weekend have played key roles, of course. The same is also true for the NFL’s new media rights deals and the revenue brought in from gambling.

The quarterback, receiver and defensive tackle markets have surged recently in response to the regular jumps in the cap. As things stand, Justin Jefferson is the league’s top earner for non-quarterbacks at $35MM per year, but Ja’Marr Chase could overtake him soon. The edge rush position will be worth watching as the 2025 offseason unfolds; Micah Parsons is set to ink a monster Cowboys extension, while the likes of Myles Garrett (with the Browns or an acquiring team), T.J. Watt (Steelers) and Trey Hendrickson (Bengals) are in line to receive notable raises on their next pacts.

Now that the 2025 figure is known, here is a look at how the cap has risen since 2011:

2011: $120.4MM
2012: $120.6MM
2013: $123.6MM
2014: $133MM
2015: $143.3MM
2016: $155.3MM
2017: $167MM
2018: $177.2MM
2019: $188.2MM
2020: $198.2MM
2021: $182.5MM
2022: $208.2MM
2023: $224.8MM
2024: $255.4MM
2025: $279.2MM

2025 Salary Cap To Land Beyond $277MM

February 19th, 2025 at 12:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

The latest salary cap projection arrived in December, hinting at a modest increase. As it turns out, that update undersold where the NFL’s 2025 salary ceiling will check in.

That projection pointed to the 2025 cap falling between $265-$275MM, but ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano indicates a boom beyond $280MM is now in play. The NFL has informed teams it will instead land between $277.5MM and $281.5MM. Anywhere in this range will mark at least a $22MM increase from 2024 ($255.4MM). Until Wednesday, teams had been operating on a prediction the cap would land between $272-$275MM, CBS Sports Jonathan Jones adds.

This greater-than-expected increase will not break the record 2024’s cap set, but it be a welcome sight after the rumor that had indicated a lesser jump would take place. Teams suddenly will have a few extra million to throw around in free agency and to allocate toward extensions. This will also mark a massive jump from where the cap was just four years ago.

The COVID-19 pandemic leading to fanless stadiums (in some cities) and heavily capped attendance (in others) in 2020 led to the 2021 cap dropping to $182.5MM. Four years later, the cap will have risen by nearly $100MM.

This continues a stream of growth, a trend that did not develop during the 2011 CBA, which featured stagnancy it its early years before roughly $10MM-per-year climbs as the decade progressed. A 2020 CBA that has included two additional playoff games, a 17th regular-season contest, new TV deals and increased gambling partnerships has seen cap spikes by more than $16MM each year since the pandemic-induced decrease of 2021 and by at least $20MM three times since then.

Last year’s record-setting jump ($30.6MM) could have featured a bigger spike, as the league’s memo (via The Athletic’s Dianna Russini) indicates a smoothing effort took place to produce a more gradual climb rather than have a near-$40MM bump in 2024 and a far lesser surge this year. Roughly $1MM of this year’s bump will also come via performance-based pay.

The 2024 increase brought new position-record contracts at many positions. Chris Jones eclipsed the salary ceiling Aaron Donald‘s then-outlier contract had set for defensive tackles, while Chiefs teammate Creed Humphrey is more than $4MM clear (AAV-wise) than any other center. The guard market saw Landon Dickerson check in with a new record ($21MM per year) just before the 2024 league year opened, while both Patrick Surtain and Jalen Ramsey agreed to deals that broke the cornerback record by a substantial margin. Christian McCaffrey later broke his own RB AAV record by securing a two-year, $38MM extension last summer, and the tackle market included Tristan Wirfs and Penei Sewell establishing new position records.

The two highest-profile positional spikes came at quarterback and wide receiver, respectively. The $30MM-AAV WR club expanded from one to six, with Justin Jefferson‘s $35MM-per-year contract the new standard. After the $50MM-per-year QB club added several new members, Dak Prescott used unique leverage to secure a $60MM-AAV extension hours before the Cowboys’ Week 1 game. While another quarterback topping that this year may be unlikely — barring true Bills-Josh Allen renegotiations transpiring — position records elsewhere (likely headlined by Ja’Marr Chase at receiver and a few edge rusher extension pursuits) are likely thanks in part to Wednesday’s news of better-than-expected cap growth.

Here is how the cap has looked over the past two CBAs:

2011: $120.4MM
2012: $120.6MM
2013: $123.6MM
2014: $133MM
2015: $143.3MM
2016: $155.3MM
2017: $167MM
2018: $177.2MM
2019: $188.2MM
2020: $198.2MM
2021: $182.5MM
2022: $208.2MM
2023: $224.8MM
2024: $255.4MM

2025 NFL Cap Space, By Team

February 15th, 2025 at 9:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

Free agency is roughly one month away, and teams are preparing for the first major roster-building checkpoint on the offseason calendar. In several cases, of course, the lead-in to the start of the new league year will require cost-cutting measures.

Teams expect the 2025 cap ceiling to check in somewhere between $265MM and $275MM, providing a general target to aim for before the final figure is unveiled by the NFL. Using a projected cap of $272.5MM, here is a look at where all 32 teams currently stand (courtesy of Over the Cap):

New England Patriots: $119.8MM
Las Vegas Raiders: $92.53MM
Washington Commanders: $75.21MM
Arizona Cardinals: $71.33MM
Los Angeles Chargers: $63.41MM
Chicago Bears: $62.97MM
Minnesota Vikings: $58.01MM
Pittsburgh Steelers: $53.26MM
Cincinnati Bengals: $46.26MM
Detroit Lions: $45.69MM
San Francisco 49ers: $44.26MM
Tennessee Titans: $44.08MM
New York Giants: $43.38MM
Green Bay Packers: $42.14MM
Los Angeles Rams: $38.33MM
Denver Broncos: $34.78MM
Jacksonville Jaguars: $32.27MM
Indianapolis Colts: $28.25MM
Carolina Panthers: $20.33MM
Philadelphia Eagles: $18.08MM
New York Jets: $16.86MM
Baltimore Ravens: $5.96MM
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $2.24MM
Houston Texans: $99K over the cap
Kansas City Chiefs: $916K over
Dallas Cowboys: $2.85MM over
Miami Dolphins: $5.44MM over
Atlanta Falcons: $11.15MM over
Seattle Seahawks: $13.46MM over
Buffalo Bills: $14.18MM over
Cleveland Browns: $30.17MM over
New Orleans Saints: $54.11MM over

These figures will of course change based on where the final cap ceiling winds up for the year, but they take into account each team’s carryover amount for 2025. Even with those savings in play, more than one quarter of the league finds itself in need of cost-shedding moves to simply achieve cap compliance by mid-March.

With the Patriots leading the way in terms of spending power, they will be a team to watch closely once free agency begins. The team’s willingness (or lack thereof) to make major free agent additions last year was a talking point, and it will be interesting to see if the regime featuring de facto general manager Eliot Wolf and new head coach Mike Vrabel takes a different approach in 2025. A serious push for Tee Higgins – by far the most sought-after wideout set to hit the market – can be expected.

Aside from Higgins, the Bengals have a number of financial priorities. Working out a monster extension for fellow receiver Ja’Marr Chase and a new deal (and accompanying raise) for edge rusher Trey Hendrickson are key goals for the franchise. Quarterback Joe Burrow is prepared to restructure his own pact to create cap space for this offseason, but the team will no doubt need to break with tradition in terms of contract structure and guarantees to keep its core intact.

The Colts’ offseason has been defined in large part by a focus on retaining in-house players during recent years. That approach has not paid off as hoped, and general manager Chris Ballard said last month he plans to oversee a shift in roster-building philosophy this year. With the finances to make at least a modest addition or two on the open market, Indianapolis could be a suitor for some of the middle-class free agent options.

Over the coming weeks, many teams will proceed with extensions and restructures to free up cap space; the Seahawks recently took the latter route with defensive lineman Leonard Williams. Teams like the Steelers (in the case of edge rusher Preston Smith) and Dolphins (with running back Raheem Mostert as well as corner Kendall Fuller and tight end Durham Smythe) have already begin cutting veterans to free up cap space. That will increasingly continue in the near future with respect to the teams currently slated to be over the cap in particular.

2025 NFL Cap Carryover, By Team

January 11th, 2025 at 9:52pm CST by Adam La Rose

With the regular season in the books, all NFL teams have declared their cap carryover for the 2025 league year. Unused cap space from the current campaign will roll over, a substantial element of many teams’ financial planning.

Last offseason saw a record-breaking jump in the salary cap ceiling (pushing the upper limit to $255.4MM). To no surprise, another spike is expected but a smaller year-to-year increase is likely to take place. It was learned last month that teams are preparing for the 2025 cap to check in at a figure between $265MM-$275MM.

As teams evaluate key roster-building decisions – including restructures and cuts aimed at manufacturing cap space – carryovers are crucial. It it still not known what exactly the cap ceiling will wind up as, but in the meantime every club’s space which has been rolled over will add a degree of clarity with respect to how their offseason will take shape. Several teams (including the top two on this year’s list) have made a concerted effort in recent years to carry unused space through the course of a campaign knowing a spike in cap charges for core players are forthcoming.

Courtesy of Over the Cap, here is the full breakdown of each team’s 2025 cap carryover amount:

San Francisco 49ers: $50.01MM
Cleveland Browns: $41.95MM
New England Patriots: $34.86MM
Las Vegas Raiders: $33.57MM
Detroit Lions: $23.73MM
Washington Commanders: $19.83MM
Dallas Cowboys: $18.84MM
Jacksonville Jaguars: $15.89MM
Green Bay Packers: $15.11MM
Tennessee Titans: $14.72MM
Arizona Cardinals: $11.38MM
Indianapolis Colts: $10.1MM
Seattle Seahawks: $8.42MM
Pittsburgh Steelers: $6.83MM
Philadelphia Eagles: $6.81MM
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $6.63MM
Atlanta Falcons: $6.07MM
Minnesota Vikings: $5.94MM
Cincinnati Bengals: $5.94MM
Chicago Bears: $5.08MM
Los Angeles Chargers: $4.89MM
Houston Texans: $4.81MM
Kansas City Chiefs: $3.15MM
Miami Dolphins: $3MM
New Orleans Saints: $2.93MM
Los Angeles Rams: $2.75MM
Baltimore Ravens: $2.14MM
Denver Broncos: $1.91MM
Buffalo Bills: $1.34MM
New York Giants: $1.17MM
Carolina Panthers: $490K
New York Jets: $346K

Cameron Jordan Plans To Play In 2025

December 27th, 2024 at 4:24pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan is planning to return for his 15th NFL season in 2025, per Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football.

Jordan has one year remaining on his current deal with the Saints, but the team is already almost $64MM over the NFL’s projected 2025 salary cap, per OverTheCap. A release with a post-June 1 designation would save the Saints $11MM of salary cap space next year, though the team would have to absorb almost $24MM in dead cap hits across 2025 and 2026.

This isn’t the first time Jordan has faced a potential end to his time in New Orleans. He’s become accustomed to treating the team’s final home game each year as if it could be his last in the Superdome, according to Triplett.

If the Saints do part ways with Jordan, he will face a complicated free agency market this offseason. To start, he’s 35 years old with just five sacks in the last two years after 11 straight seasons with at least 7.5. Jordan has yet to miss a game in his career, but his snap share has steadily dropped since he turned 30, reaching a career-low 47% this year.

The 14th-year defensive end would likely need to take a pay cut from his current $13.25MM per-year average, though with over $125MM in career earnings, he is more likely to be chasing another Super Bowl ring than a final payday. In terms of official sacks, Jordan is the Saints’ all-time leader (120.5). That total ranks 23rd all time, putting Jordan on the Hall of Fame radar. Dwight Freeney and Julius Peppers kept going into their late 30s, padding their sack totals as situational pass rushers. A similar role could benefit Jordan, but some moving parts still exist here.

He also wants to stay at defensive end instead of moving inside to defensive tackle, Triplett adds. Jordan has spent the vast majority of his career as an edge defender in the Saints’ 4-3 scheme. At 6-foot-4 and 287 pounds, he has the size to play along the interior, but believes he will be most effective on the outside. However, teams with a 3-4 defense – which tend to assign more coverage responsibilities to edge defenders – may only see Jordan as a designated pass rusher. Still, most teams primarily use nickel personnel, so Jordan should be able to find a new defensive end gig if he leaves New Orleans.

Teams Expect 2025 Salary Cap To Check In Between $265-$275MM

December 10th, 2024 at 4:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a significant reduction in 2021, the NFL’s salary cap is back on the rise. This year brought a record spike, which produced some windfalls — particularly along the offensive and defensive lines — in the days that followed. More growth is coming, but not quite as much as what 2024 brought.

This year produced a $30.6MM spike, raising the league’s salary ceiling to $255.4MM. The NFL is not planning to offer teams a projection this year, marking a deviation from the norm, but NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport does indicate where clubs are expecting next year’s number to sit . Teams are planning for the 2025 cap to come in between $265-$275MM.

A $10MM increase would be in line with the annual jumps during the 2011 CBA, but since the COVID-19 pandemic brought a 2021 reduction, the 2020 CBA — thanks in part to the expanded playoff bracket, 17th regular-season game and a new round of TV deals — has produced bigger leaps.

At this time last year, clubs were a bit more pessimistic on the 2024 cap. An expectation pointed to a $240MM salary ceiling for this year. That turned out to be well off the actual number, a development the Giants’ Hard Knocks: Offseason series revealed caught their GM (Joe Schoen) by surprise. We did hear earlier this offseason that at least one team, the Cowboys, did not expect similar cap growth for 2025. A May report predicted around a $10MM climb, which would certainly not rival what happened this year. That would affect teams’ plans for free agency and extensions.

The media kicker in the 2020 CBA, which can raise the players’ revenue share from 48% to 48.8%, played a role in this year’s cap spike. The NFL still, however, has not yet moved away from the effects of COVID. The pandemic leading to fanless stadiums (in many cases) and capped attendance at others in 2020 produced a $15.7MM cap reduction in 2021. Only the 2011 season, which came after a lockout and an uncapped 2010, had previously brought a decline. The 2025 offseason, though, is believed to be the final year in which the effects from the pandemic impact the NFL’s salary cap, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter notes.

Teams generally know what the cap will be around the Combine, leaving some mystery ahead. A $9MM deferment will affect the 2025 and ’26 caps, Rapoport adds, noting that the NFL and NFLPA agreed to keep that money from being piled onto this year’s record number. Otherwise, the NFL’s 2024 cap would have passed $260MM.

Franchise and transition tag numbers, fifth-year option figures, RFA tender prices and other matters will be determined as a result of where the cap lands. Here is where the cap has stood in each year during the past two CBAs:

2011: $120.4MM
2012: $120.6MM
2013: $123.6MM
2014: $133MM
2015: $143.3MM
2016: $155.3MM
2017: $167MM
2018: $177.2MM
2019: $188.2MM
2020: $198.2MM
2021: $182.5MM
2022: $208.2MM
2023: $224.8MM
2024: $255.4MM

Extra Points: Cap, Interviews, Texans, Pash

May 24th, 2024 at 11:09am CST by Sam Robinson

In place since 1994, the salary cap jumped by a greater amount this year than any other in its history. The $30.6MM spike this year — producing a $255.4MM salary ceiling — led to some monster payments for top free agents, and the wide receiver ceiling is likely to reach the $35MM-per-year place once Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb are signed. Teams, however, may be preparing for a less impactful rise in 2025. The cap should not be expected to balloon on the level it did this year, with the Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken noting the early expectation is an increase of approximately $10MM. Once the 2011 CBA starting bringing cap growth by 2014, it leveled off at bumps of around $10MM per year as the 2010s wound down. That period will do well to prepare teams, as does the COVID-19-induced cap decline of 2021. But an expectation of a modest increase for 2025 will play into clubs’ big-ticket extension talks as this offseason progresses.

Here is the latest from around the NFL:

Assistant coaches on playoff teams will have some additional time to prepare for postseason matchups in 2025. The NFL will introduce a cap on the length of HC interviews with assistants attached to playoff teams, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. These meetings will be capped at three hours. With no limit being in place previously, this will be a significant change as teams and candidates chart their interview schedules come January. Additionally, these interviews must take place in the city of the assistant’s current team or a location approved by the coach’s current team, per Pelissero and SI.com’s Albert Breer. These changes comes a year after the league pushed back the timeline for candidates to conduct in-person interviews, sliding it from after the wild-card round to after the divisional round.
NFL general counsel Jeff Pash revealed he will retire from the post he has held since 1997, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes. Pash will remain in his position until a successor is determined. A Paul Tagliabue-era hire, Pash has worked as a central part of Roger Goodell‘s disciplinary efforts since he replaced Tagliabue in 2006. Best known for his efforts in high-profile NFL legal battles, Pash has also played a key role in player safety measures on the field. Lawrence Ferazani Jr., Anastasia Danias Schmidt and Brook Gardiner loom as early replacement candidates, Bloomberg’s Brian Baxter writes. An ex-FBI agent, Ferazani has worked in the league office since 2007. Danias Schmidt currently serves as Major League Soccer’s general counsel, but she worked in the league office previously. Gardiner, MLS Next Pro’s general counsel, did as well. Janet Nova, the NFL’s deputy general counsel for media and business affairs, and fellow league staffer Dolores DiBella loom as other internal options, Baxter adds.
Texans minority owner Javier Loya faced a rape charge, along with other sexual abuse charges, stemming from alleged incidents in May 2022. The rape allegation has been dismissed, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, who reports the six charges of sexual abuse were also dropped. Loya agreed to a deal that will close this matter with one misdemeanor charge — harassment with intent to annoy — and a $100 fine in Kentucky, Wilson adds. Four female models Loya allegedly hired to work at two Kentucky-based parties accused him of sexual abuse. Loya has been a Texans minority owner since the franchise’s 2002 inception.

Dolphins Restructures: Ramsey, Armstead, Sieler, Ingold, Smythe

March 24th, 2024 at 9:58pm CST by Ely Allen

The Dolphins were in a dangerous situation working with quite a precarious cap number. In an effort to get within compliance, Miami reworked the deals of several players in order to lessen their respective salary cap impacts.

One of the biggest deals to get done was the restructure of star cornerback Jalen Ramsey. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the team converted $13.89MM of Ramsey’s 2024 base salary (now only $1.21MM) and an $11MM roster bonus into a signing bonus while adding an additional void year to the two already in existence at the end of his contract.

The work put in by both sides resulted in a cap clearance of $19.91MM.

Here are a few other restructured deals the Dolphins utilized to increase their available cap space:

We mentioned after the re-signing of offensive guard Robert Jones that an adjusted contract was on the way for left tackle Terron Armstead. Lo and behold, per Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald, Armstead will accept a $4.25MM pay cut in 2024 while bringing in $10MM of guaranteed salary. His new deal includes a $7.29MM signing bonus, as well. The adjustments cleared another $10.29MM of cap space for the Dolphins.
It was Michael Ginnitti at Spotrac.com who informed us of the remaining adjustments. Defensive lineman Zach Sieler contributed by agreeing to convert $7.01MM of his 2024 base salary (now only $1.13MM) into a signing bonus while adding two void years to the end of his deal, resulting in the clearance of $5.6MM of cap space. Fullback Alec Ingold chipped in by agreeing to convert $2.08MM of his 2024 salary (now also $1.13MM) into a signing bonus while adding two void years to the end of his contract, as well, resulting in $1.66MM of cap space clearance. Finally, tight end Durham Smythe agreed to convert $2MM of his 2024 base salary (now also $1.13MM) into a signing bonus while adding three void years to the end of his current deal, resulting in $1.6MM of new cap space. Oyefusi points out that the addition of all those void years speaks to the dire nature of the team’s salary cap position. They ended up finding cap compliance in time for the new league year, but the cap hits of those void years will find them eventually.

NFC Restructures: 49ers, Smith, Eskridge

March 24th, 2024 at 7:55pm CST by Ely Allen

The 49ers recently restructured the contracts of two offensive mainstays that cleared up a heap of cap space. According to ESPN’s Field Yates and Adam Schefter, both tight end George Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk agreed to restructured contracts to help lessen their impact on the salary cap.

Charean Williams of NBC Sports provided us with some details on Kittle’s newly redone deal. The veteran tight end was set to have a base salary of $13.4MM with a cap hit of $21.96MM in 2024. Instead, the team converted $12.19MM of his base salary for 2024 into a signing bonus while adding one voidable year to the existing two already at the tail end of his contract. The move cleared up $9.75MM of space in the team’s salary cap.

While Schefter’s initial report claimed that the restructure for Juszczyk would free up approximately $1.75MM of cap space, a later report from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network laid out some details that would clear almost $4MM of cap space. The restructured deal will reportedly reduce his base salary in both 2024 and 2025, forming what is essentially now a two-year, $9.1MM contract. In exchange for the reduced pay, San Francisco gave Juszczyk $4MM of new guarantees.

Here are some details on other recent restructures from around the conference:

We reported a restructured deal for Vikings safety Harrison Smith about a week and a half ago, and thanks to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune, we have some details on the new contract. The restructure addressed the final two years of Smith’s contract, essentially giving him a two-year, $10.25MM deal with three void years at the end of the contract. Smith received $7MM of guaranteed money in the form of a signing bonus and will receive a per game active bonus of $30K for a potential season-total of $510K. The new contract reduces Smith’s cap number in 2024 by $11.9MM and reduces his 2025 cap impact by $15.5MM.
The Seahawks cleared up some cap space by restructuring the contract of wide receiver D’Wayne Eskridge, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. It’s just a slight tweak for a player who was only slotted to make $1.47MM in the final year of his rookie deal. The restructure will open up about $500K of cap space for Seattle.

NFL Restructures: Saints, Ward, McGovern

March 2nd, 2024 at 5:04pm CST by Ely Allen

With the league’s recent release of the new salary cap numbers and the rapid approach of free agency and the draft, NFL teams are working to clear up cap space to help add significant talent to their rosters for the 2024 NFL season. The Saints made a number of moves recently to reflect this pattern.

New Orleans agreed to a restructured deal with defensive end Carl Granderson, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The team converted a $9MM roster bonus that Granderson was due into a signing bonus spread over a five-year period. The move reduced his cap hit in 2024 from $12.45MM to $5.25MM, freeing up $7.2MM of cap space.

The team applied the same tactic to interior offensive lineman Cesar Ruiz‘s contract, per Pelissero, converting his $8MM roster bonus into a signing bonus and adding a void year to the end of his deal. The result saw Ruiz’s cap number drop from $10.85MM to $4.45MM, freeing up $6.4MM more of cap space.

One more time, the Saints got another player to sign a restructured deal this week. This time, star pass rusher Cameron Jordan agreed to convert $11.79MM of his 2024 base salary into a signing bonus, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. Jordan’s base salary was reduced to $1.21MM, and the team cleared $9.43MM of cap space as a result.

Granderson, Ruiz, and Jordan join quarterback Derek Carr, defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd, and center Erik McCoy as Saints who have signed restructured deals to help clear cap space recently.

Here are a couple of other restructured deals from around the league:

The Browns got in on the party, agreeing to a restructured deal with cornerback Denzel Ward, per Pelissero. Cleveland converted $14.2MM of Ward’s base salary into a signing bonus and added a void year to the end of his contract. Ward’s 2024 salary is now $1.13MM as a result, and the move cleared $11.36MM of cap space for the upcoming league year.
Finally, the Bills were the other team this week to work towards more cap space. Offensive guard Connor McGovern agreed to a reworked deal that would convert $4.68MM of his 2024 base salary into a signing bonus and add two void years to the end of his contract, according to Pelissero. The restructure clears up $3.74MM of cap space for Buffalo.