Green Bay Packers edge rusher Rashan Gary joined Nick Bosa, T.J. Watt, Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack as the fifth edge rusher in football to sign a contract featuring a signing bonus of at least $30 million.
Gary’s signing bonus in his new, four-year extension is $34,636,928. The bonus amount will be spread out on the salary cap in increments of around $7 million over the five total years of the contract, including 2023.
The signing bonus is the fourth highest among edge rushers. As the Packers often do with veteran contracts, a big signing bonus up front provides the player with immediate and guaranteed money while allowing the team to better spread out the yearly cap hits.
The extension will pay Gary a little over $96 million in new money. Adding in the $11 million from this year means Gary’s deal is worth around $107 million in total. In terms of new money, Gary’s extension ranks fifth among edge rushers per year.
Because Gary has already been paid over $4 million in base salary this season, the extension will actually reduce the Packers’ available cap space by a little under $1 million in 2023.
Roster bonuses due to be paid out in 2024 and 2025 account for $14.9 million of the contract. Base salaries of $18 million in 2026 and $21 million in 2027, or the final two years of the deal, account for another $39 million total. The Packers also put in a $700,000 workout bonus per year from 2024-27 and $800,000 roster bonus ($800,000 total, paid out per game) every year from 2024-27.
Including the signing bonus, Gary will earn almost $40 million in 2023.
Here’s the contract structuring, via Ken Ingalls:
Rashan Gary's contract comes in a bit cheaper than I expected. Rumors were he was looking for Top 3 Edge money, this deal comes in at #5. pic.twitter.com/NVozAi4M4T
— Ken Ingalls – Packers Cap 💰 (@KenIngalls) October 30, 2023
