Now that the deal is official, the Jets must a Haason Reddick extension is a must for this offseason.
Details of the deal. pic.twitter.com/4Lt5nGsUpA
— New York Jets (@nyjets) April 1, 2024
Many times we talk about extensions and restructures in terms of present cap space. While an extension will help the Jets in the immediate future, the Jets also need to extend Reddick for the 2025 season’s cap space.
Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap expects the contract to be reworked for this year, and include four void years.
My assumption is they will redo the deal and bring his salary down to the minimum and add 4 void years. So probably will wind up being around $4M
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) March 29, 2024
Haason Reddick’s Extension is a Must for the Jets
Four void years would spread the money of a signing bonus over the length of a contract. However, it does create an accelerated hit in 2025 of the four remaining years of prorated bonus. That would create $10.72 million in dead cap for next season. What can the Jets do, though? Let’s dive in.
Reddick would already have a cap hit in 2025 of $2.608 million for the prorated roster bonus. He was due $16 million in cash payment in 2024: $14.25 million in base salary, a $1 million roster bonus, a $250,000 workout bonus, and another bonus of $500k. So, he’d likely deserve a raise in terms of cash payment for 2025. (Note: Cash is not the cap space. It’s the total payment to a player that year.)
The Eagles are eating the roster bonus. So, if they do the restructure, he’s getting $13.04 million in cash upfront from the Jets, and $71,176 in-game checks from the Jets plus his bonuses. One-fifth of the $13.04 million would count against next season’s cap on an extension.
How can the Jets divide up the $16 million in cash? Also, how would it affect the cap? Let’s dive into what the parameters of a Haason Reddick extension would look like.
He’d have to get a cash raise for him to sign. So, let’s say $18 million.
Base Salary
When it comes to the base salary, what a player gets paid for playing (or being on the active roster or injured reserve) only the guaranteed money counts against the cap before Week 1. A player who’s played three seasons is fully vested in the NFL. So, his contract becomes fully guaranteed in Week 1.
Therefore, Reddick’s contract can be broken up into two guaranteed categories:
Fully guaranteed: $10 million
Vested guarantee: $6 million
That means, if the Jets were to end up releasing him, they’d save only $6 million.
Bonuses
Workout bonuses are earned by attending workouts in the offseason. For Reddick, the Jets could give him the same workout bonus as this season ($250k).
A roster bonus is given to a player if he’s on the roster on a certain date. For this example contract, Reddick gets a $1.25 million roster bonus which triggers on June 1. His bonus is $1.25 million.
Throw in a Pro Bowl bonus of $500k, and his total cash payment is $18 million.
Even though this would create a cap hit of $20,608,000, that’s better than a dead cap hit of $10.72 million with a hole on the roster. For the extension to make zero sense, the Jets would then have to be able to add someone for $9,888,000 or less and get the same production in cash and cap space.
Based on what we’ve seen from Reddick, that’s highly unlikely. So, an extension is very much in order.
Main Photo: [Bill Streicher] – USA Today Sports
