The Buffalo Bills re-signed defensive end Jerry Hughes to a contract extension this week, ensuring one of their best players would be on the roster for three more seasons and potentially allowing Hughes to finish his career as a member of the team. On Sunday, the paperwork came through the NFL transaction wire and Mike Rodak tweeted out the details in this thread.
While Hughes received $19.75 million guaranteed in the contract, $6.8 million of that was in 2019 on the year he already had in his deal. They weren’t going to release him, so this just solidified that number. Buffalo only guaranteeing roughly $13 million in new money to get the contract done is remarkable.
Hughes received a $6.3 million signing bonus and the rest of the guarantee is $6.65 million in guaranteed salary in 2020. There is no guaranteed money into the 2021 season.
His salaries are all below $7 million per season and while his cap number in 2019 is almost $12 million, it’s below $10 million in the subsequent two years. For a very talented pass rusher, it’s a definite hometown discount (which is saying something for a guy with the highest cap number on your team).
The Bills have signed a very effective pass rusher for less than $11 million per season. It’s less than what 30-year-old Justin Houston got from the Indianapolis Colts this offseason. It’s a lot less than what Calais Campbell is making with the Jacksonville Jaguars at age 32. It places him 17th in terms of annual average value of the contract, and eighth among defensive ends 30 or older.
2019
Pro-rated signing bonus (old contract): $1.4 million
Option bonus (old contract): $1.5 million
Roster bonus (old contract): $1 million
Pro-rated signing bonus (new contract): $2.1 million
Workout bonus: $150,000
Salary: $6.8 million (fully guaranteed)
Salary cap hit: $12.95 million
2020
Pro-rated signing bonus: $2.1 million
Roster bonus: $500,000
Workout bonus: $250,000
Salary: $6.65 million (fully guaranteed)
Salary cap hit: $9.5 million
2021
Pro-rated signing bonus: $2.1 million
Roster bonus: $1 million
Workout bonus: $250,000
Salary: $6.1 million
Salary cap hit: $9.45 million
Dead cap hit: $2.1 million
Savings if cut: $7.35 million if before roster bonus, $6.1 million at final cuts