Packers Salary Cap After Devonte Wyatt Signed #Packers #GoPackGo
Packers Salary Cap After Devonte Wyatt Signed
Overthecap just released the contract details for Devonte Wyatt.
Yr
Base
SB
Roster
GA
WO
Cap
Cash
26
1.215M
5M
2.223
8.438M
1/$23.44M
27
1.50M
5M
7.3M
1M
.5M
$15.3M
2/$33.74M
28
9.3M
5M
7.0M
1M
5M
$22.8M
3/$51.54M
29
14.8M
5M
1M
.5M
$21.8M
4/$67.84M
Wyatt had been scheduled to earn $12.938M, which was fully guaranteed. The new deal adds 3 years and $54.9M in new cash, which is $18.3M in new money per year. As I predicted, there are no void years to lower the signing bonus proration. I also predicted that Wyatt would receive between $32M and $34M over the first two years of the deal. He got $33.738M, or $16.869M per year. He has a 2-year out of 2/$33.738M with $10M dead and $12.8M in cap savings. That is a reasonable out. The Packers have an option for $17.8M in 2028 and $16.3M in 2029.
I did not anticipate that the Packers would give Wyatt the $2.223M roster bonus in 2026. I thought they would keep his cap number around $6.4M. I predicted he would earn $16.5M AAV. He got a bit more but at least I was in line with his two-year cash flow.
2026 SALARY CAP:
OTC lists the Packers with $27.859M in cap space. Now that Tucker Kraft has been activated off of the PUP list, I expect him to get signed soon. Kraft currently has a $3.93M cap number which includes a $256K signing bonus proration from his rookie deal. I am going to assume 4-years at $84M with a $25M signing bonus. I think his cap number will be lower than Wyatt's but we shall see. Kraft should be around for five years whereas Wyatt has a four year deal and likely will be around for only two or three years. I am going to assume a=Kraft gets a $7.5M cap number for 2026 plus $256K for his old proration for a total of $7.75M when all is said and done. I woud estimate $15M to $17.5M for Kraft's cap number in 2027.
Adj
Cap Space
OTC Current Estimate
$27.859M
My EST Kraft $7.75M - $3.93M
$3.57M
$24.289M
Piggy Bank - PUP, IR, Acquisitions
$6.5M
$17,789M
Practice Squad
$4.0M
$13.789M
52nd and 53rd contract count in Sept
$2.0M
$11.789M
PS Elevations
$0.7M
$11.089M
Game Active Adj led by Watson
$1.25M
$9.839M
Watson played 10 games but he has a $1.825M gave active bonus. If Watson plays in all 17 games, the Packers cap space would be reduced by $751K. That being a good thing, I budgeted cap space for it. The same apolies to Zach Tom (12 games last year, so a possible $206K reductiuon) and to Tyrod Taylor (6 games played in 2025 so a possible $323K if he sits on the bench for 17 games this year but is active.
With just $9.839M in spendable salary cap (I did not look at any incentives), I do not think the Packers will sign Vita Vea. I have heard that Clowney could be had for shockingly low amounts: $6M is so low that it is tempting if that is really what it would take.
The problem is that 2027 looks pretty tight. OTC (including Wyatt) now has the Packers with less than $200K in cap space for 2027. But that does not include a cap number for Kraft, or cap for the draft picks, piggy bank, PS elevations, 52 and 53rd contracts, or the practice squad.
$197,134 in cap space does not assume any rollover from 2026. It does not include my estimate of $15M for Kraft's 2027 cap number, nor does it include $16M for the draft, piggy bank, PS squad, etc. It looks to me like the Packers need to find $31M in cap savings. The Packers could use some or all that $9.839M in spendable 2026 cap. Or do they?
Players Under Contract For Both 2026 and 2027:
QB Love
RB: Jacobs, Lloyd, Brooks,
TE: Kraft (assumedd), Musgrave, Whyle, Lachey, Swinson etc
WR: Watson, Reed, Golden, Savion Williams, etc.
OL: Morgan, Banks, Rhyan, Belton, Tom, Kinnard, Burton, Glover, Williams, Monk, Donovan Jennings, etc.
DL: Wyatt, Hargraves, McClellan, Brinson, Stackhouse, Riley (RFA in 2027) [
LB: Cooper, Franklin, McDuffie, Hopper, Niemann, Welch
Edge: Parsons, LVN, Sorrell, DDS, Oliver, (not Cox or Mosby)
S: McKinney, Evan Williams, Bullard, Oladapo, Baldwin
CB: Cisse, St-Juste, Hadden, Marlin Jones, Domini Jackson (Not Nixon and Valentine)
The significant team losses include Nixon, Valentine, Karl Brooks, Musgrave, and Brenton Cox. Corner back looks weak but otherwise if things go reasonably well they don't have any other huge holes in 2027 that would necessitate spending in free agency. They have lots of draft picks to try to improve the team. They will need to generate some cap space. Let us look at the possibilities below.
Player
Cash due
Cap
Dead
Savings
Love
$11.5M + option
$44M
$85M
(-$41M)
?
Parsons
$3.1M + option
$26.8M
$94M
(-$67.5M)
Nope
Jacobs
$13.5M
$16.625M
$3.1M
$13.5M
Yep
Banks
$15.5M
$25.48M
$26M
($-841K)
Rest
Tom
$11.95M
$17.93M
$17.9M
(-$23K)
Rest
Watson
$4.125M
$11.5M
$28.4M
(-$17M)
Nope
McKinney
$16.75M
$24.8M
$14.97M
$9.8M
Yep
Wyatt
$10.3M
$15.3M
$15M
$300K
Yep
Hargraves
$10.0M
$15.25M
$5.25M
$10M
Yep
Franklin
$9.0M
$10.88M
$1.875M
$9M
Yep
Van Ness
$13.75M
$13.75M
$13.75M
0
Poss
McDuffie
$4.35M
$5.1M
$750K
$4.35M
Yep
St. Juste
$5.0M
$6.5M
$1.5M
$5M
Yep
I am not advocating for releasing, extending, trading, or restructuring any of the players above. That is just where the money is. Yep means all four could make sense. Nope means not much can be done. ? means something could be done but it probably would be unwise. Rest means limited to just doing a restructure to free up some space. Poss means LVN could be traded, restructured, or extended, but since his 5th year option is fully guaranteed, a release is not an option.
I don't think that this is a great situation, but it could be better. Most teams have multiple players scheduled to receive loads of cash, at least $15M, but the Packers have just two such players plus two more getting huges amounts ($40M and $50M) but since they are option bonuses, they have already been restructured/converted to a signing bonus.
We just have to wait to see how these players perform so we can decide who the team needs to keep, who can be let go via trade or release and who should or can be extended or restructured. If the team stil thinks it is in win-now or win-soon mode, finding $30M is very doable. It could be better but it is not dire.
Photo courtesy of Wm. Glasheen, USA Today Network.
Cap number per Overthecap.
Filed Under: FeaturedGreen Bay PackersJames Reynolds
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NFL Categories: Green Bay PackersTags: salary capRoster ConstructionGreen Bay Packersdevonte wyatt
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