Jason Kelce announced last week that he was returning to play for the Eagles for his 12th NFL season but before that could happen, he needed a new contract.
The Eagles paid the 34-year-old Kelce like the top center he is, but in typical Eagles fashion, they constructed the contract in a way that limits his cap hit in 2022.
And now we have all those details, via a league source:
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Base salary: $1,120,000
Signing bonus: $10,130,000
Roster bonus escalator: Up to $3 million
Cap hit in 2022: $8,045,000
NFL
Technically, this contract from the Eagles is a five-year deal, worked as an extension, worth $45 million but don’t worry about any of that. But the Eagles added extra years (two voidable years) to this deal to spread out the bonus money for cap purposes. This is really a one-year deal.
The Eagles paid out the bulk of Kelce’s salary in a lump sum signing bonus because that can be prorated over the length of a contract, so it spreads out the cap hit. Base salaries count in full against the cap that year. The reason players go along with this is simple: They get that money up front, so it doesn’t matter to them.
If you’re wondering why this cap hit might seem higher than normal for a deal that’s structured like this, good job. You’re right. This is not a new contract but an extension of a deal that has been reworked several times before. So there are other bonuses that have prorated into this deal. While just over $2 million from this signing bonus will count in 2022, the total prorated amount (from current and past bonuses) is $6,925,000.
So Kelce’s cap hit in 2022 is that prorated bonus amount of $6,925,000 + his base salary of $1,120,000 = the cap hit of $8,045,000.
While it’s true that Kelce could technically play the 2023 season under this contract, he won’t. His base salary next season is just $1.5 million and he has already been paid the bonus money for this year. So if Kelce plays beyond the 2022 season, it’ll require another deal. But at 34, Kelce has made it clear that he’s operating on a year-to-year basis anyway.
Just enjoy the Eagles all-time great while you can.
If Kelce retires after this season, the Eagles would be left with a substantial amount of dead money (around $18 million) going forward. But the Eagles would probably ask Kelce to hold off filing his paperwork until after June 1 to spread out that dead money over two seasons.
Including Kelce’s deal (but without Haason Reddick’s contract) the Eagles have just over $14 million in cap space in 2022. With three first-round picks, the Eagles will need to use a decent chunk of that on their draft pool but they still have the ability to sign free agents and can make some other moves to create space if needed.