The last Buffalo Bills contract we hadn’t published details on is finally available. We knew Russell Bodine signed for two years and $5 million but we didn’t know the structure of the deal until Mike Rodak tweeted the pertinent information Friday afternoon.
Bodine received a $1 million signing bonus and his 2018 salary of $1.15 million fully guaranteed. He’ll be on the roster this September, or he’ll receive the same amount of money either way. He can also earn a $200,000 workout bonus this offseason and up to $275,000 in per-game roster bonuses for being on the 46-man game day roster. Since he played in all 16 games last year that per-game bonus is considered Likely To Be Earned.
His 2019 salary of $1.9 million is not guaranteed and he can earn the $200,000 and $275,000 bonuses in 2019, as well.
Bodine’s direct competition at center is Ryan Groy, who is signed for the 2018 season at $1.5 million in salary and just earned a $1 million roster bonus. The two are being paid very similarly and both are expected to be on the roster in the Fall, but it’ll be financially easier to release Groy than Bodine.
If he’s released after the 2018 season, his dead cap hit would be $500,000.
2018
Salary: $1.15 million guaranteed
Pro-rated portion of signing bonus: $500,000
Workout bonus: $200,000
LTBE roster bonus: Up to $275,000 ($17,187.50 per game)
Cap hit: $2.125 million
2019
Salary: $1.9 million guaranteed
Pro-rated portion of signing bonus: $500,000
Workout bonus: $200,000
Pre-game roster bonus: Up to $275,000 ($17,187.50 per game)
Cap hit: $2.6 million (Up to $2.875 million)