Thursday the Seattle Seahawks broke up the quiet time ahead of the 2024 NFL Combine by restructuring the contract of Geno Smith, transferring numerous suckers into a delirium. The move frees up some 2024 payment cap space for the jingoists by adopting the 2025 cap, but numerous are more interested in what this move means for the platoon in 2024.
snappily, before jumping into reading the tea leaves, for those who want the details on how the restructure affects the cap, then’s what the breakdown of Smith’s 2024 and 2025 cap successes were previous to the restructure.
Geno Smith contract restructure Seattle Seahawks
$31.2 M- comprised of$12.7 M base payment, $9.6 M canon perk, $8.7 M signing perk proration and 200k drill perk
2025$33.7 M- comprised of$14.8 M base payment, $ 10M canon perk, $8.7 M signing perk proration and 200 drill perk
And now following the restructuring of his contract, the figures for the coming two seasons are
2024$26.4 M- comprised of$12.7 M base payment, $13.5 M signing perk ($8.7 M$4.8 M) and$ 200k drill perk
2025$38.5 M- comprised of$14.8 M base payment, $ 10M canon perk, $13.5 M signing perk proration ($8.7 M$4.8 M) and$ 200k drill perk
Seahawks assume the responsibility
The only effect the restructure did was change how the the$9.6 M canon perk is reckoned for by recategorizing it as a signing perk and moving half ($4.8 M) of it to the 2025 season. That’s it. There was no change in pay or change in overall cap hits over the coming two seasons. They simply pushed$4.8 M of cap charge into 2025. It’s that simple. It’s an account change, and nothing further. ( Author’s note If there’s a trade in place, and that trade is to a state where there’s an income duty, also from Geno’s perspective it would be salutary to have the Seahawks assume the responsibility of the$9.6 M while his state income duty is still at zero percent, but that’s a different discussion that can be had latterly on.)
What the restructure means?
Now, getting to what the restructure means, the simple answer is that what it means depends on what one wants it to mean. There are several ways to read into the restructuring.
The first possibility is that the coaching staff sat down, talked to Smith, watched the film, and decided that Geno is the Joe they want under center, at least to open the 2024 offseason and into training camp. So, if the plan is to keep him around, they might as well restructure his canon perk to come cap-biddable and have a little redundant twitch room in case they need it for the commodity in the coming days.
Up next is the possibility that the Seahawks could be working to trade Smith to another platoon, and the interested party was either not looking to pay$22.5 M, or potentially couldn’t fit that quantum into their present payment cap situation. Before the restructure, had a platoon traded for Smith before his canon perk was due, the acquiring platoon would have been on the hook for a 22.5 M cap megahit? Now, an acquiring platoon would only be responsible for a cap mega hit of$12.9 M, which would be Smith’s base payment and his drill perk.
Overview
In addition, just as has been seen with several other trades in recent times, it’s possible the Seahawks converted the canon perk to subscribing perk at the request of an acquiring platoon. When the Los Angeles Rams traded for Von Miller, they transferred redundant draft compensation to the Denver Broncos for the Broncos to convert 9M of base payment to subscribing perk.
Also, when the New York Titans traded Leonard Williams to the Seahawks last fall, the Titans converted of base payment to a subscribing perk to lower Williams’ cap hit for the jingoists. So, for that keeping score at home, if the Rams transferred the Broncos a redundant alternate-round pick in the trade in exchange for reducing Miller’s cap hit by 9M, and the Seahawks transferred the Titans a redundant alternate-round pick for reducing Williams ’ cap hit by$9.353 M, what would be the fresh draft pick compensation Seattle could potentially be in line to demand in exchange for having lowered Smith’s cap hit by$9.6 M?
Jingoists inked both Phil Haynes
Next, it’s possible that they could be on the verge of inking one, or potentially multiple, of their free agents to a new contract. It could be Leonard Williams Damien Lewis Jordyn Brooks Bobby Wagner Noah Fant or whoever. This is a time of time when the jingoists have signed their in-house free agents to new contracts while they still have exclusive negotiating rights with those brewing free agents. In the week leading up to the Combine in 2023, the jingoists inked both Phil Haynes and Nick Bellore to contract extensions, and players began reporting Sunday.
So, perhaps the restructure means a trade is coming, perhaps it means the Seahawks just like Geno and want him to be their quarterback in 2024 or perhaps it means nothing in respect to Smith and the jingoists just demanded the cap space for commodity unconnected. Just about the only thing we can say that it does mean is that the jingoists won’t be releasing Smith anytime soon, indeed as some sounded to hold out stopgap that would be the path down which John Schneider and Mike Macdonald would conclude to do.
Therefore, each there’s for suckers to do at this point is to sit back, relax, enjoy hand dimension season and fight about which draft prospects are going to be successful and which bones are going to bust.