The Saints have indeed restructured the contract of receiver Marques Colston. And while Colston will get no less money, the Saints could have created even more cap space than they did.
Due to earn a base salary of $4.5 million in 2013, a source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that $2.8 million was converted to a signing bonus. The remaining $1.7 million will be paid out as base salary this year.
With four total years remaining on the deal, $700,000 of the guaranteed payment counts against this year’s cap. The other $2.1 million will push forward.
It’s unclear why the Saints didn’t nudge the 2013 base salary even lower. It could be that the Saints realize that the rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul approach would simply create bigger cap issues in future years.