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The Jacksonville Jaguars handed out some massive free agent contracts over the weekend, including a five-year, $67.5 million deal to corner back A.J. Bouye. Bouye was one of the Jaguars primary targets in free agency, as they knew they could spend big on a corner opposite Jalen Ramsey while Ramsey is on his rookie deal.
Bouye's deal is eye popping on paper, which includes $26 million guaranteed and signing bonus valued at $10 million. As with all the Jaguars free agent contracts, once you break it down it typically ends up being just a two-year deal with a series of one-year deals the team can easily get out of.
Below is a breakdown of Bouye's deal, via Over The Cap:
Year | Base (Guaranteed) | Prorated Bonus | Roster Bonus | Workout | Other | Cap Hit | Dead Money | Cap Savings |
2017 | $3,000,000 ($3M) | $2,000,000 | $500,000 | $5,468,750 | $26,000,000 | -$20,531,250 | ||
2018 | $13,000,000 ($13M) | $2,000,000 | $500,000 | $15,500,000 | $21,000,000 | -$5,500,000 | ||
2019 | $13,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $500,000 | $15,500,000 | $6,000,000 | $9,500,000 | ||
2020 | $13,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $500,000 | $15,500,000 | $4,000,000 | $11,500,000 | ||
2021 | $13,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $500,000 | $15,500,000 | $2,000,000 | $13,500,000 |
Once you get under the hood, you see that nearly all of Bouye's guaranteed money is paid out in the first two years of the deal. As with all signing bonuses, his $10 million is amortized over the life of the contract, so it counts $2 million against the cap each season. He also has a series of roster bonuses due each season, which will likely kick in a few days after the start of the league year.
All of Bouye's guaranteed money ends up being paid out over the first two years of the deal, so if he ends up being a bust, the Jaguars can cut him loose after 2018 without hurting their cap figure.