Adrian Fedkiw
Howie Roseman explained a few months back that he didn’t want Fletcher Cox to leave the building. It wasn’t a matter of if the contract would get done, it was when.
That when came Monday night, ensuring Cox won’t be leaving the building anytime soon.
Now it’s time to take a look at the math of Cox’s monster six-year extension, which is worth $102.6 million with $63.3 million guaranteed, the most for any non-quarterback in NFL history. The pact also included a $26 million signing bonus.
Here’s the year-by-year breakdown of his deal via overthecap.com.
His $17.1 million average salary is second most among defensive tackles behind the Miami Dolphins’ Ndamukong Suh ($19.1 million).
The Eagles vice president of football operations Roseman likes to backload his deals, while Cox’s agent Todd France expressed that his client wanted stability and for a lot of his guaranteed money to be up front.
Both were accomplished.
Cox will receive $55.55 million of guaranteed money by next March, but his base salary for 2016 ($1.3 million) and 2017 ($3 million) is significantly lower than in 2018 ($11.5 million) and 2019 ($15.6 million). The same holds true for the salary cap numbers. He has a hit of $6.5 million in 2016 and $9.4 million in 2017 before that number climbs to $17.9 million in 2018, $22 million in 2019 and $20.3 million in 2020.
Philly will basically not be able to cut the 25-year-old Cox until 2019, something that would only be considered if Cox suffers a serious injury and is a shell of the player he once was. Cox has a dead money value of $36.3 million in 2016, $29.8 million in 2017 and $20.4 million in 2018, so the Eagles would lose $29.8 million in 2016, $20.4 million in 2017 and $2.5 million in 2018 if they were to release him in any of those seasons.
That dead money value drops to $14 million in 2019, $7.6 million in 2020, $1.2 million in 2021 and there is no dead money for 2022. So the Eagles would save $8 million if they parted ways with Cox in 2019, $12.7 million in 2020, $16 million in 2021 and $17.1 million in 2022.
The Eagles are $11.3 million in the red in salary cap space for the 2017 season, which is by far the worst number of all 32 teams. Sam Bradford was already looking like a goner for 2017 after Carson Wentz was drafted No. 2 overall, but Cox’s contract essentially solidifies it. Bradford has a cap hit of $22.5 million for 2017. Philadelphia can save $17 million if it trades him after the season and $13 million if it cuts him.
It has until next summer to get that cap number on the positive side of the ledger.
Another thing to keep in mind. Carson Wentz’s rookie deal will expire in 2020 and if he pans out, he’ll be demanding a lot of money. The Eagles can still work around that if they exercise his fifth-year option for 2021, but by 2022 when Cox will be entering the final year of his deal, Wentz will need to get paid.
The Cox contract marks the official end of Roseman’s spending spree this offseason. By locking up core pieces in Zach Ertz, Malcolm Jenkins, Vinny Curry, Lane Johnson, Brent Celek, Sam Bradford and Cox and bringing in free agents Rodney McLeod and Brandon Brooks among others, the Eagles have handed out by far the most guaranteed money since the beginning of the new year.
Most Guaranteed Money Given Out since Jan 1, 2016
Eagles $280,254,834
Giants $140,873,332
Redskins $114,785,698
Ravens $114,366,332— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 13, 2016
While this is an effective strategy to make sure you have your key core players in Philadelphia for the long haul, there is considerable risk because without much free-agent flexibility over the next handful of years, the NFL Draft will be paramount. Roseman has always been a wizard with the salary cap and the handling of contracts, but the draft is his Achilles heel.
Let’s hope his luck changes.
“Philly will basically not be able to cut the 25-year-old Cox until 2019”
It really is 2020 (not that it’s a bad thing). In 2017, half of his 2019 salary becomes guaranteed. In 2018, the other half of his 2019 salary becomes guaranteed). So if they were to cut him heading into the 2019 season, they’d take on $29.5 mil of dead money ($15.5 mil of base salary + $14 mil of remaining signing bonus amortizations). So for all intents and purposes, that $63 mil might as well be fully guaranteed.
I don’t know man, the over the cap chart says differently and they’re pretty spot on with their information. It says $14 million of dead money and the Eagles would save $8 million. Either way, he won’t be getting cut in 2019 lol.