After signing offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva to a two-year deal, the Baltimore Ravens now have a very solid offensive line unit that should be able to perform better than last season. The team also added guard Kevin Zeitler in free agency and drafted guard Ben Cleveland to go along with players such as Ronnie Stanley and Bradley Bozeman.
In Villanueva, the Ravens are getting a quality player who didn’t break the bank. The former Pittsburgh Steeler signed for $14 million total over the two years, but it goes a bit more in depth than that. The full details of Villanueva’s contract with Baltimore were released, providing some insight into what his contract actually means for both him and the Ravens.
A breakdown of Alejandro Villanueva's 2-year, $14M deal with Ravens
$6.5M signing bonus
$8M guaranteed (bonus & 2021 base salary)2021: $1.5M base ($4.75M cap)
2022: $4M base* ($9.25M cap)*$2M bonus if on roster on 5th day of 2022 league year
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) May 7, 2021
From the looks of the numbers of the contract, it would seem that in reality, Villanueva will only be with Baltimore for one season. The Ravens can let him go with just $3.5 million in dead cap space if he’s not on their roster on the 5th day of the 2022 league year. However, if he performs extremely well in 2021, the team could opt to bring him back if they feel like he can continue to play at that level.
