The Eagles on Thursday agreed to terms on a one-year contract with veteran safety Andrew Adams.
But the Eagles certainly aren’t tied to Adams.
In fact, if the Eagles don’t like what they see from Adams at training camp, they can release him pretty easily. And it looks like this is a veteran salary benefit deal, so Adams will have a cap hit of under $1 million in 2021 even if he’s on the team.
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In total, the deal is worth up to $1,127,500 but should come with a reduced cap hit.
Here are some of the details on the contract, according to a league source:
Base salary: $990K
Total guarantee: $65K
NFL
Signing bonus: $65K
Roster bonus: $72.5K
Cap hit: $987,500
The veteran salary benefit allows teams to offer a qualifying contract to any player with at least four credited seasons at a reduced cap hit. These deals include a base salary at whatever level of service the player has attained (for Adams that’s $990,00) plus an additional $137,500 in compensation. In this case, that’s the signing bonus and roster bonus combined.
It doesn’t mean Adams is due any less money, but for cap purposes, the Eagles are charged the rate of a player with two credited seasons (that is $850,000 in 2021). So Adams’ cap hit is $850K + $137.5K. This is a mechanism to encourage teams to sign veterans instead of younger and cheaper players. The Raiders gave Nelson Agholor one of these contracts last year.
For Adams, that $72.5K roster bonus kicks in if he’s on the roster for the first game of the 2021 season. So if he makes the team, he gets that roster bonus.
But because all the guaranteed money owed to Adams comes from his signing bonus, the Eagles can cut him with no ramifications at any time before the opener.
Of course, that’s not the goal. The Eagles signed Adams as a depth piece and special teams contributor. They got the safety going into his sixth NFL season for the minimum for someone with his level of service.
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