The Buffalo Bills tore up Micah Hyde’s contract and gave him a new one, converting base salary into signing bonus to save cap space in 2021. That is the most noteworthy salary cap gymnastics I see from his most recent deal signed last week with details from Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic and Over the Cap.
Originally scheduled to make $4.05 million in salary and a $500,000 roster bonus, Hyde will now make only $2.1 million in salary this year but he received a $7.5 million signing bonus. The cap hit stays about the same because of the signing bonus pro-ration. (You can read the detailed breakdown of Micah Hyde’s free agent contract from 2017 right here.)
Old contract
2021
Pro-rated signing bonus: $1.6 million
Roster bonus: $500,000
Workout bonus: $100,000
Salary: $4.05 million
Per game active bonus: up to $500,000
Cap hit: $6.75 million
Cash paid in 2021: $4.55 million plus bonuses
New contract
2021
Pro-rated signing bonus: $4.1 million
Workout bonus: $100,000
Salary: $2.1 million
Per game active bonus: up to $300,000
Cap hit: $6.6 million
Cash paid in 2021: $9.6 million plus bonuses
The restructuring of the 2021 year was essential to get the deal done along with a pay raise for Hyde. Otherwise, it would have raised his cap number to a point where the Bills wouldn’t have been able to match it.
Once you get past looking at the 2021 numbers, it’s a two-year extension worth $19.25 million with $9.6 million totally guaranteed. That guaranteed money is all in the first year, though, and not in the new years of the deal. The $7.5 million signing bonus and $2.1 in 2021 salary are all that is fully guaranteed.
In his commitment to not back-load contracts, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane has cap hits of $9.7 million in each of the two new seasons. His salary is manageable and this feels very much like a deal where Hyde will see the end, even at the age of 33.
Here are all the yearly breakdowns:
2021
Pro-rated signing bonus: $4.1 million ($1.6M old, $2.5M new)
Workout bonus: $100,000
Salary: $2.1 million
Per game active bonus: up to $300,000
Cap hit: $6.6 million
2022
Pro-rated signing bonus: $2.5 million
Roster bonus: $2.5 million
Workout bonus: $100,000
Salary: $4.3 million ($3.7M fully guarantees on fifth day of league year)
Per game active bonus: up to $300,000
Cap hit: $9.7 million
2022
Pro-rated signing bonus: $2.5 million
Roster bonus: $1.5 million
Workout bonus: $100,000
Salary: $5.3 million
Per game active bonus: up to $300,000
Cap hit: $9.7 million