Out of all the things that fans can gripe on Matthew Stafford about, leadership isn’t one of them.
According to various reports, Matthew Stafford has restructured his contract to give the Lions an addition $6 million dollars in salary cap space to go after free agents.
Now Matthew Stafford won’t be losing any money in this restructuring, he will simply be turning $8.475 million of his pay into a signing bonus paid over several seasons.
“The Lions took that $9 million salary for this season, reduced it to the minimum for a third-year player ($525,000), then paid the difference ($8.475 million) as a bonus so it could be prorated for cap purposes, saving $6,356,250 of cap room,” the source said.
Here’s how his salary will break down according to Crain’s Detroit Business…
~ In 2012, his base salary is $10.5 million, with $2.7 million of that fully guaranteed. His cap number is $16,098,750.
~ In 2013, his base salary is $11.5 million, none of it guaranteed, and his cap number is $17,098,750.
~ In 2014, his base salary is $11 million, none of it guaranteed, and his cap number is $16,598,750.
Source: Mlive.com, Crain’s Detroit Business