BakoSaint

It is complicated but I believe I am right other than a minor typo, I didn't look at the wrong line I looked one column to the left of the column you looked and used an imprecise term for it. Maholmes guaranteed salary for 2024 is $38 million. He also has $8.6 million in already prorated bonuses that hits the cap in 2024 so $46.6 million is his total 2024 cap number, but $38 million is the more relevant number for restructuring purposes because thats the amount of money in the categories where restructuring is possible. Already prorated bonuses can't be restructured and are considered part of the cap hit but not part of that years guaranteed salary.

I am sure most of that $38 million is guaranteed but I was not proposing that the Chiefs cut Maholmes. I was stating that they can restructure his contract. There is no prohibition on restructuring guaranteed salary or roster bonuses into signing bonuses, its essentially turning a guarantee into a check, which Maholmes would probably be fine with.

So my math on the Chiefs being able to restructure Maholmes to clear exactly $32 million cap should be valid. So if the Chiefs would have to restructure too many players to tag Jones, too many players is 1 player. I think Schefter may have just looked at base salaries and did not realized Maholmes has a $34.9 million guaranteed roster bonus that can be restructured just the same as a base salary.

Restructuring the same player two years in a row is noting exotic. The Saints restructure many of their stars many years in a row. I am sure some of the base salaries and roster bonuses we restructured were guaranteed already. All restructuring does is take salary and bonuses that are due that year and spread them out over the length of the contract for salary cap calculation purposes while the player gets the money immediately and helps his team 'win now' to improve his reputation as a winner. If a player has a base salary or roster bonus of $10-$20 million a year for two or more years in a row the team can restructure him each year to spread out each of those payments that is due against the cap.

I believe the Saints restructured Michael Thomas's contract 5 times in 4 year, in 2020, 2021, 2022, and twice in 2023. Michael Thomas has never had a base salary over $1.7 million or a roster bonus over $0.2 million because we have restructured his contract every single year to push the money down the road.