When the Detroit Lions traded for Michael Brockers they inherited a contract with an $8 million cap hit in 2021 and a team option $10M cap hit in 2022. From a value standpoint, this deal lined up with Brockers’ talent but with the Lions’ current cap situation, it made sense for them to explore options to lower the impact this season.
While Brockers was happy with the value of his contract—he wasn’t willing to lower it for the cap-strapped Los Angeles Rams—after the trade to Detroit, he was left will only minimal guarantees on the deal.
With the Lions looking to gain cap relief and Brockers looking for contract stability without lowering his value, the two sides agreed on a new three-year $24M contract that provided positives results for both.
Let’s take a closer look at the new deal.
Note: details via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press
2021
Base Salary: $1.075M (all guaranteed)
Signing bonus: $1.975M
Cap hit: $3.05M
2022
Base Salary: $7M ($4M guaranteed)
Signing bonus: $1.975M
Cap hit: $8.975M
2023
Base Salary: $10M
Signing bonus: $1.975M
Cap hit: $11.975M
With this new structure, the Lions gain nearly $5M in cap space in 2021 by lowering the cap hit from $8M to $3.05M, while Brockers gets $11M in guarantees, with $5.925M of it paid to him immediately as a signing bonus.
In 2022, the Lions once again gain cap relief, this time just over $1M, while Brockers enters the year with almost $8M remaining in guarantees, for the most part assuring he will stay in Detroit this season as well.
2023 yields the largest cap hit for the Lions, but at this point, Brockers will only have $1.975M remaining in guaranteed money, giving the Lions the potential to get out of the contract with a minimal cap hit and clearing $10M in cap space.
In the end, like with the Romeo Okwara contract, the Lions found a way to create a workable number in a difficult cap year, while also providing the player with two years worth of stability and enough guarantees to show they are valued.
