Predicting the 12 Moves that get Green Bay Packers Under the Salary Cap

Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst looks up at the video board during the first half of an NFL preseason game at Lambeau Field on Thursday, August 9, 2018 in Green Bay, Wis.Gpg Packersvstitans 080918 Abw1655
Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst looks up at the video board during the first half of an NFL preseason game at Lambeau Field on Thursday, August 9, 2018 in Green Bay, Wis.Gpg Packersvstitans 080918 Abw1655 /
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Green Bay Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark (97) celebrates a teammates sack during the 2nd half of the Green Bay Packers 20-15 win over the Washington Redskins at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019. Photo by Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal SentinelPackers09 Packers 02973 /

Green Bay Packers Restructure Kenny Clark

Projected Salary Cap Savings: $9.54 million

Again, this is a salary cap saving move that you can pretty much bank on. It’s an easy move to make, and it doesn’t require any sort of negotiating between the team and the player–the organization can just do it. Clark has an $8.25 million base salary along with a $6.4 million roster bonus that can be converted to a signing bonus and spread out over the life of the contract.

Green Bay Packers Restructure Aaron Jones Jones

Projected Salary Cap Savings: $2.87 million

You get the idea–although there isn’t as much wiggle room with Aaron Jones’ contract as he has a base salary of only $1.1 million in 2022 and a roster bonus of $3.75 million, there is still cap space to be saved.

It’s also important to remember when discussing these contract restructures that while the cap hit is being lowered in the present year, the cap hit is growing in the remaining years of the contract as more cap charges are pushed ahead. What that means is that it becomes more costly to get out of a contract if needed, and that player’s contract becomes more expensive — from a cap perspective — than if there was no restructure taking place.