Kevin King’s cap number will be lower than Josh Jackson’s in 2021.
The Green Bay Packers used void years – an increasingly popular salary cap mechanism during this offseason – to keep King’s impact on this year’s cap surprisingly low.
In fact, King’s cap hit will only be $1,937,500 this season, or around $50,000 lower than Jackson’s.
King’s one-year deal with the Packers actually includes four voidable years, allowing the team to prorate his $3.75 million signing bonus over five years. Bonuses can be prorated on the cap over a maximum of five years, hence the four extra years tacked onto the deal for the most possible savings this year.
The cap savings now – or $3 million on the cap this year – will be absorbed into next year’s cap as a dead cap hit. The final four years of signing bonus proration – $750,000 per year, for four years – have to be paid on the cap in 2022, when the deal voids, unless the team eventually extends King’s deal at some point before next February.
The mechanism allowed the Packers an opportunity to bring back a starter at a very low price. The team also used void years on restructures for Adrian Amos and Mason Crosby. In terms of the total effect on the cap, the Packers will pay King roughly $5 million over the next two years.
For the player, the cash flow is unaffected. King will get his $3.75 million signing bonus up front, and he’ll be expected to get another shot at free agency at this time next year.
Regardless of how you view King, the team has to be excited about getting back a player who started 25 games at a premium position the last two seasons for less than $2 million on the cap in 2021, especially given the Packers’ cap issues.
Here’s the contract breakdown from Ken Ingalls:
A look at the Kevin King contract for the Packers.
2021 Cap: $1,937,500
2022 Cap: $3,000,000The 2022-2025 years are fake. The combined signing bonus cost of $3M will hit the 2022 cap when this contract voids in mid February with King no longer on the team (unless extended). pic.twitter.com/kc3sWuqe7q
— Ken Ingalls – Packers Cap 💰 (@KenIngalls) March 25, 2021
