The Green Bay Packers committed $56 million in signing bonuses to the four players they agreed to sign Tuesday.
Outside linebackers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith, safety Adrian Amos and offensive lineman Billy Turner were the four prizes.
Here are their guaranteed signing bonuses:
– Za’Darius Smith: $20 million
– Preston Smith: $16 million
– Adrian Amos: $11 million
– Billy Turner: $9 million
Russ Ball and the Packers use signing bonuses as an easy way to guarantee money up front and spread out the cap hits over the life of the contract, helping both the player and team. The Packers almost never guarantee base salaries for veteran players.
Some agents and players don’t care, others hate it.
Signing bonuses help because the money can be pro-rated throughout the full contract, creating a more even distribution on the cap while also lessening the first-year charge. It’s a clever way to front-load a contract financially while also back-loading it cap-wise. And the player gets a good chunk of guaranteed money, which is the goal for players in every contract negotiation.
For instance, Preston Smith will sign for $16 million guaranteed. That money will be paid upfront, but it will be split into four separate $4 million cap charges over the life of the deal. The signing bonus won’t count fully on the cap in 2019. And that’s the only guaranteed money in the deal. In the end, Smith will only count $6 million against the cap next season.
