With Carlton Davis’s recent trade, the Detroit Lions considerably reduced his salary hit from $14.35 million.
In addition to cornerback Carlton Davis’ substantial $14 million salary and $14.35 million cap hit, the Detroit Lions also acquired him in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After the deal was finalized and the new league year began, that amount instantly impacted the Lions’ salary cap, which gave many people hope that the team would either extend or modify the contract to give themselves more breathing room.
According to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, the Lions selected the later of the two choices. Of that compensation, the Lions turned $6 million into a signing bonus, which they gave to Davis right away. Subsequently, the Lions inserted three vacant years into the agreement, allocating the $6 million signing bonus over the next four years ($1.5 million annually) as a cap charge.
Old contract
$14 million salary
Up to $500,000 in per game roster bonus ($352,941 likely to be earned based on 12 games played in 2023)
Cap hit: $14.35 million
And here’s his new contract:
2024:
$8 million salary
$1.5 million in signing bonus proration
Up to $500,000 in per game roster bonus
Cap hit: $9.85 million
2025 (automatically voids):
$4.5 million in dead cap (all 3 remaining void years accelerate to 2025 cap).
Although the signing bonus is currently spread out through the 2027 season, it becomes fully vested on February 20, 2025, the day the contract automatically voids.
This means that even though Davis is not signed through that year, there will be a sizable $4.5 million dead cap that year. Davis’ contract may be extended or resigned, but Detroit will still be responsible for the $4.5 million.
The Lions aren’t exactly creating cap space out of nowhere. They’re essentially just pushing about a third of Davis’ sizable cap hit into next year to ease the immediate hit, provide more space to make more moves, and transfer that extra cap into a year in which the salary cap is expected to be higher than it was this year.
