Cap Compliance Achieved!

Yesterday we learned that the Ravens have restructured the contracts of three players to be in cap compliance by midnight tonight, September 4, 2024. By converting salary into bonus, which is then amortized over the remaining term of the respective contracts, the Ravens were able to save $9.3M in cap space for 2024 by restructuring:

• Nnamdi Madubuike: $3.9M
• Roquan Smith – $3,656,250
• Justin Tucker – $1,717,500

• Total – $9,273,750

Those three restructured deals bring the Ravens current salary cap picture to $4.8M under the cap. RSR’s capologist Brian McFarland has shared via X that this rainy-day fund will be sufficient for now, but if the Ravens suffer a few injuries that require IR designations or if they wish to make an in-season trade, GM Eric DeCosta might need to do some other restructuring.

Other candidates include Mark Andrews ($2.9M), Marcus Williams ($7.2M), Marlon Humphrey ($7.9M) and Lamar Jackson ($11.1M).

Restructured deals can be dangerous if the players whose contracts are restructured fail to play to the level of their contracts. Madubuike, Smith and Tucker seem like safe bets. They probably won’t suffer through any degradation in play that might expose their contracts as drains on the cap. It’s important to keep in mind that future cap numbers swell for all players who are restructured. It’s like a credit card. You may create a short-term solution but eventually, the dues will have to be paid. And it’s the safer play to pay players performing well than those who become cap liabilities.

Andrews might seem like a safe bet, but the big blows tight ends suffer through during their careers take a toll. Moreover, it has long been the Ravens style to have a succession play at the position in order to lighten the position’s load on the cap. From Shannon Sharpe to Todd Heap to Dennis Pitta to Mark Andrews and quite possibly to Isaiah Likely, the Ravens have a pattern at the position as it relates to cap management. That may have weighed on the mind of DeCosta when considering restructure candidates.

The 27-year-old Marcus Williams might seem like an attractive candidate. His shelf-life at the position of safety is long, but given Marcus’ injuries and younger talent like Beau Brade and Sanoussi Kane waiting in the wings, it may have inspired DeCosta to pump the brakes on Williams. And let’s not forget, EDC might not want to over-invest in the position of safety. After all, Kyle Hamilton will be looking for a new deal by 2026 and that deal could be a record-setter.

Marlon Humphrey has been restructured a couple of times already. He’s still only 28 years old but his play in recent years is more like that of a player in his 30’s. Marlon has shown signs of a rebound season throughout camp, but his trends suggest looking elsewhere for cap relief.

And that brings us to Lamar Jackson.

Brian pointed out last night that Lamar’s cap numbers in 2026 and 2027 are already $74.65M, so a restructure today, would increase those numbers to $77.5M. One might argue that the Ravens will probably look to structure a new deal/extension for Lamar by that time anyway, but when you consider how difficult the last round of negotiations went with the two-time MVP, DeCosta probably doesn’t want to give Jackson even more negotiating leverage just yet. If there’s a trade to be made at the deadline, the Ravens could still restructure Lamar and save $5.7M in cap space. So, for now, that looks like EDC’s ace in the hole.

Compliance has arrived.

Let the games to begin!

[Related Article: How Will the Ravens do in 2024-25.]

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2024/09/04/lombardis-way/restructured-ravens-contracts/