What David Bakhtiari’s restructured contract means for Packers
The Green Bay Packers restructured the contract of left tackle David Bakhtiari, the first of many moves GM Brian Gutekunst needs to make to get his team in a better salary cap situation entering the 2021 league year.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network first reported the restructuring.
Here’s what the move means for the Packers:
– The Packers used a common salary cap accounting trick. Instead of paying the massive roster bonus of nearly $11.1 million next month, the Packers converted the bonus into a signing bonus, allowing the team to spread the charge out over the four years of Bakhtiari’s deal.
– The move dropped Bakhtiari’s cap hit in 2021 to $10,993,014, freeing up $8.304 million on the cap this year but adding $2.768 million to each of the final three years of his contract (2022-24).
– Bakhtiari’s cap hit will now rise to $22.8 million in 2022, rise again to $26.3 million in 2023 and peak at $30.3 million in 2024.
– Even with the $8.3 million in cap savings this year, the Packers still need to shed at least $20 million to get under the projected 2021 salary cap before the start of the new league year. This is the first step in a long line of moves that are coming.
– The ability to restructure the deal and free up cap space was built into Bakhtiari’s record-breaking extension signed during the regular season last year. This is why the Packers like to use roster bonuses for star players. It provides the ability to move money around and create space as needed. The move changes nothing about Bakhtiari’s cash flow, only when the money is counted on the cap. The Packers did something similar with Aaron Rodgers last year.
– It was easy to connect Bakhtiari’s restructuring with J.J. Watt’s release, but don’t try too hard to connect the dots. While the move might be one step in eventually have the cap space to afford to sign Watt, the Packers were going to restructure Bakhtiari’s deal regardless of whether Watt was available or not. Again, they need to clear millions more in cap by next month. This move had to get done.
– More restructures could be coming. The Packers have plenty of options. Rodgers, edge rusher Za’Darius Smith, safety Adrian Amos and offensive tackle Billy Turner all have deals that could be re-worked. And receiver Davante Adams probably needs a new deal. A list of reasonable ways the Packers can create more cap space can be found here.
– While the restructuring doesn’t change much about Bakhtiari’s future, it does probably guarantee he’ll be in Green Bay for at least three more seasons. His dead cap charges are over $15 million during each of the next three seasons. The Packers may have a decision to make by 2024, when they can save $21.5 million by releasing him, with a dead cap charge of around $8.8 million.
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