The contract for the 31-year-old pass rusher has been reworked to include some reachable sack incentives.
Green Bay, Wisconsin — Preston Smith’s 2024 comeback became official on Wednesday when the astute pass rusher for the Green Bay Packers accepted a wage reduction to stay with the organisation.
PackersNews.com reports that Smith, who was scheduled to receive a basic salary of $5.7 million for the 2017 season, had that amount cut by $1.9 million. Instead, if he hits double digits, which he hasn’t done since 2019, his rookie season, he will receive $4 million in sack incentives. The Packers now have $2.4 million in cap space that they may use to their advantage in free agency.
The Packers would have been better off cutting Smith’s base pay than turning his roster bonus into a signing bonus. In the next years, that would have increased the strain on the team’s payroll cap.
This comes after Rashan Gary, Smith’s running partner, had his contract adjusted by the Packers on Monday. The Packers converted the amount into a signing bonus and spread it out over the following few years, freeing up $4.78 million in additional cap space, because his roster bonus was due on March 15. The Packers are projected by Over the Cap to be slightly above $9.5 million in the black as of Thursday, February 29.
Smith and the Packers came to an understanding about the restructuring. The consensus inside his legal team is that Smith, 31, would still make more money with the Packers than he would be able to obtain in free agency. Despite his dependability and durability, Smith’s best course of action is to stay with the Packers, even if it means taking a pay reduction. The standard 4-3 defence was instituted by new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who will give Smith and company additional opportunity to pressure the quarterback. In contrast to Joe Barry, Hafley’s predecessor, Smith would sometimes withdraw into coverage, which reduced his influence on the field.
