The Arizona Cardinals did not have a ton of space under the salary cap to work with in free agency. To mitigate that, they got creative with the contract for free agent linebacker De’Vondre Campbell’s contract.
It was touted initially as a one-year deal worth up to $8.5 million. That is basically what it is.
However, for cap purposes, it is a five-year contract. Here is the info on the contract from the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson.
The Cardinals pay him a $5 million signing bonus. He earns $1 million in salary in 2020. 2021-2024 will void five days after the Super Bowl.
The cap hit in 2020 will only be $2 million and he can earn up to another $2.5 million in incentives. So his cap hit will be somewhere between $2 million and $4.5 million.
Of course, it also means that, unless they extend his contract or redo thee wording of it, his contract will void and the Cardinals will carry $4 million in dead money in 2021.
But if he plays well, they would be able to redo the deal and extend that initial signing bonus over more years.
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