Packers use Voided Years to Lessen De’Vondre Campbell Cap Hit

Perhaps more so this offseason than any other, there is a heavy focus on the Green Bay Packers’ cap situation and really any move that they make.

Of course, the reason for this is because we saw the league salary cap plummet to $182.5 million this offseason, and it took a myriad of moves by the Packers, which included several restructures, pay cuts, and a few veteran cuts, just to get under.

We also know that even though Green Bay is currently under the cap, as Brian Gutekunst told us before the draft, there would be more cap moves made in the months that followed—two moves already made include restructuring Dean Lowry’s contract and creatively structuring Robert Tonyan’s ERFA deal.

So when the Green Bay Packers recently signed linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, one of the big questions was, how does that impact the salary cap?

Well, now we know. According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN,  it’s a one-year deal worth $2 million and comes with a $1.01 million signing bonus and a base salary of $990,000. As Green Bay has done with several other contracts this offseason, they also added on four voided years to the deal.

What the voided years allow Green Bay to do is spread the cap hit from Campbell’s signing bonus out over five years. Without the voided years, all $1.01 million of that bonus would count towards the 2021 cap since this is only a one-year deal. But instead, the cap hit from Campbell’s signing bonus this season is a prorated amount of just $202,000.

His overall cap hit for 2021 is then $1.192 million—the cost of his prorated signing bonus plus his base salary. The remaining $808,000 in signing bonus that was pushed into the four voidable years will then accelerate, and all come due in 2022 when the contract expires—remember, it is only a one-year deal even though on paper it appears as a five-year contract for cap purposes.

With this signing official, Over the Cap projects that the Green Bay Packers still have $5.08 million in cap space available. But as mentioned above, there could still be more cap maneuvering to come as the team still needs funds to sign the practice squad, rookie Amari Rodgers remains unsigned, and they’ll also need reserves for any potential in-season spending that could take place.

With the way that this deal is structured with the voided years and $1.01 million signing bonus, it all but guarantees that Campbell will be on the final 53-man roster. This signing is much more than Green Bay bringing Campbell in for the preseason and training camp to see what they have in him—he’s here to stay.

While Kamal Martin and Krys Barnes impressed last season, they are both only second-year players who missed time with injuries. Then behind them on the depth chart, there is a lot of uncertainty. Campbell provides needed stability to the position and someone who has been extremely durable over his career. He may not be flashy in one particular area, but he brings a well-rounded skill-set to the position.