Buffalo Bills linebacker Zach Brown, signed by the team on Monday, agreed to a one-year, $1.25 million contract that includes a $450,000 signing bonus, according to a report from WKBW's Joe Buscaglia.
Source says that LB Zach Brown's contract is 1-year, worth $1.25 million. $450,000 signing bonus. #Bills
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) April 5, 2016
If the signing bonus is included in the $1.25 million figure, as expected, that means that Brown's base salary comes in at $800,000.
Brown's is the first of four free agent deals levied out by the Bills this offseason (through Monday, at least) that doesn't qualify for the NFL's veteran-minimum benefit. (His base salary would have needed to be $760,000, and bonus money can't exceed $80,000 for that benefit.) That means that Brown will count the full $1.25 million against the Bills' 2016 salary cap if he makes the team. One might say that the team splurged on this contract, at least within the context of their approach to free agency this offseason.
Barring the addition of a starting-caliber linebacker in the 2016 NFL Draft, the 27-year-old Brown, formerly of the Tennessee Titans, is expected to seriously contend for a starting job in Rex Ryan's defense.