Breaking down Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey’s new contract
Days before the start of the new league year, the Miami Dolphins pulled off their third splash trade since the dawn of the Mike McDaniel era, as they acquired cornerback Jalen Ramsey from the Los Angeles Rams for a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long.
With the trade accepted, the Dolphins and their new cornerback came to an agreement on a restructured contract that could still tie him to the team through 2025.
According to Over the Cap, Ramsey’s new contract is worth $55 million over the next three seasons.
In 2023, he has a cap hit of $4.11 million which stems from a $1.65 million base salary and $2.945 million prorated signing bonus. The following year, his cap hit spikes to $28.445 million due to a $14.5 million base salary, a $2.945 million prorated signing bonus and an $11 million roster bonus. In 2025, the final year of the deal, his cap hit drops to $22.445 million with a $15.5 million base salary, $2.945 million in a prorated signing bonus and a $4 million roster bonus.
With the way this deal is structured, Miami could restructure next year, converting roster bonus to signing bonus, saving some cap space.
If, for some reason, they wanted to move on from Ramsey after 2023, cutting him would incur at least $28.445 million in dead cap. However, if they were to trade him after June 1, they could free up $25.5 million and only incur $2.945 million in dead cap.
While, at first glance, it appears that Dolphins general manager Chris Grier is putting the team in some tough financial situations in the future, this is one of those deals that they can possibly get out of, or at least re-work to make things easier for them going forward.
