Get used to seeing Jack Fox as the punter for the Detroit Lions for a long time. After Monday’s contract restructuring with the Lions, Fox is locked up for several years.
The Lions freed up $1.6 million in cap room for 2023 with the restructuring. Fox was due to make $2.12 million in base salary in 2023 as part of his deal last fall which made Fox the highest-paid punter in the NFL. The new adjustment drops that salary to $1.12 million, converting the rest to a signing bonus.
Detroit is now committed to paying Fox just over $2 million in guaranteed salary in 2024. His salary cap number in 2023 drops to $1.97 million, while the ensuing season bump up to $3.975 million in 2024 and 2026 spread around a $3.7 million hit in 2025.
It’s unclear why the Lions were compelled to make such a move. Detroit currently has around $14.05 million in available cap room for 2023 after the restructures of Fox and veteran EDGE Romeo Okwara and the signing of all the free agents, including new safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.