We play catch-up on some Bills contracts, including Will Clapp and DeShawn Williams.
The Buffalo Bills have made a ton of contract moves in the last month and we haven’t updated you on some of those details. Here’s a round-up of the one-year deals under $2 million.
Nicholas Morrow, LB
Morrow signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal with a $250,000 signing bonus part of $750,000 fully guaranteed. With five years of service, the minimum salary for Morrow would be $1.125 million, so he received a little more than that. If he’s released and signs elsewhere, the Bills will likely only be on the hook for $290,000 in the signing bonus and workout bonus. His cap hit and total cash if he’s on the roster opening day is $1.5 million. He has a reasonable chance of being on someone’s roster this season.
Ty Johnson, RB
The Bills re-signed Johnson as a depth option and are utilizing the veteran salary benefit to lower his cap hit. They’re paying him $1,292,500 but his cap hit will only be $1,152,500 because of the benefit. He received a $167,500 signing bonus and $500,000 of his minimum salary is guaranteed, which indicates that he’s going to be on the roster or practice squad.
Will Clapp, C
Clapp earned a $75,000 signing bonus as part of $287,500 guaranteed in his one-year deal. He has a $1.125 minimum salary, which qualifies him for the veteran salary benefit and lowers his cap hit slightly. He negotiated a $50,000 roster bonus, and I believe it’s a per-game active bonus of $2,941/game. He also has a $42,500 workout bonus, so his cash total is up to $1,292,500 while his cap hit will only be $1,152,500. It’s complex enough when they have an idea that he has a chance of making the roster.
DeShawn Willians, DE
A $15,000 signing bonus is his only guaranteed money but he also gets a $15,000 workout bonus this offseason. He has a vet minimum salary of $1.125 million, so he qualifies for the veteran salary benefit. They’ll pay him $1.155 million if he’s on the roster but his cap hit will only be $1.015 million. It’s a tryout contract.
Casey Toohill, DE
Another veteran salary benefit contract, Toohill will count $1.015 million against the cap while receiving $1.14 million in cash. He earned a $15,000 signing bonus and that’s the only guaranteed money in his contract. It’s a tryout contract.
Explaining the veteran salary benefit
The NFL & NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement escalates veterans’ minimum salaries the longer they are in the league, but they found that put vets at a disadvantage to younger, cheaper players when teams are trying to get under the salary cap. They introduced a rule that if a player makes the veteran minimum salary, their cap hit is lowered to equal that of a second-year player.
The deal can only be a one-year contract.
The veteran salary benefit, formerly called the minimum salary benefit or the veteran minimum benefit, allows older players to play at a reduced salary cap hit in order to make it more likely for them to stick on a roster as opposed to the team going for a younger player merely for the cap savings.
In addition to the base salary, they can make up to an additional $167,500 in signing or roster bonuses.