KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The NFL salary cap dropped more than $15 million due to COVID-19-related revenue decreases from 2020 to 2021.
That’s made for some interesting salary-cap gymnastics across the league, including news Wednesday that Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is restructuring his contract to create more room.
Kelce signed a four-year contract extension worth more than $57 million in August.
That deal calls for a $5.25 million base salary in 2021 with a $7 million roster bonus, creating a $13.25 million cap hit for the upcoming season, according to Over the Cap.
Kelce has agreed to convert that roster bonus into a signing bonus, according to “4th & 1” podcast analyst and 41 Action News Sports Producer Nick Jacobs, which allows the Chiefs to spread the $7 million bonus over the remaining years of the contract through 2025.
Per source: #Chiefs TE Travis Kelce’s $7M roster bonus was converted to a signing bonus.
— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) March 17, 2021
The financial maneuvering should drop Kelce’s cap number for next season down to $7.55 million after workout and per-game roster bonuses, which frees up an additional $5.6 million against salary cap room for the 2021 season.
So that Kelce move should put $1.4M per year over the life of the contract from roster hit this year to signing bonus. So Kelce’s cap hit will likely be around $7.65M in 2021 down from $13.250M it was originally. That should create $5.6M of additional cap space for #Chiefs
— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) March 17, 2021
Kansas City must be under the $182.5 million salary cap for 2021 by 3 p.m. Wednesday when the new league year officially begins.
The Chiefs made a similar move last week with quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ contract, which created $17 million in cap space.
Kansas City used some of that savings to shore up its offensive line, agreeing to a five-year contract with former New England Patriots left guard Joe Thuney.
Thuney’s $80 million deal with the Chiefs can’t become official until after the 2021 NFL year begins and the free-agent signing period opens Wednesday afternoon.
