The Eagles continue to consistently find ways to work around the NFL’s salary cap to remain aggressive in free agency.
This time, Howie Roseman and the front office reworked Lane Johnson’s contract to give them some extra salary cap space, according to a report Tuesday by NFL reporter Adam Caplan.
Johnson’s cap hit was set to be over $15.5 million in 2019 and he had a base salary of nearly $11 million. My best guess here is that the Eagles converted some of his base salary into a bonus, which allows them to prorate the amount over the remaining years of the contract. It’s just moving money around. This doesn’t mean Johnson will earn any less; it just means it’s counted differently for cap purposes.
Got it? Good. This has been a common move from Roseman in recent years.
If you’re looking for another possible candidate for a move like this, Alshon Jeffery’s contract might be one. He has a cap number of over $14.7M and a base salary of $11.75 million in 2019.
While the Eagles were really cap-strapped not that long ago, they’re really good at the financial aspect of all this. In the last week, they’ve taken significant measures to create salary cap space. Nick Foles will come off the books. Jason Kelce’s extension is expected to save cap space. They won’t pick up Tim Jernigan’s option, which will save $7 million.
Last week, Roseman said the Eagles’ goal is to always remain aggressive in free agency and everywhere. This extra cap space will allow them to at least be moderate players when free agency opens on March 13.
NFL
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