Two weeks ago, we learned that Nick Allegretti, whom some fans had thought to be a cut candidate heading into free agency, instead got a new 2-year contract
.Prior to the extension, Allegretti had only the final year (2026) left on a 3-year deal he had signed in 2024:
I confess that when I heard the news, I initially assumed that 2 years had been added to the only year left on his existing contract. That’s not what happened. Basically, one year was added (2027), or looked at another way, his old contract that had only one year remaining
was replaced by a new 2-year deal.
To understand what the Commanders did here, we have to do a little bit of math.
Here’s Allegretti’s new deal:
There are a number of things to notice here:
- The 2026 cap hit dropped from $7.18m to $3.84m
- The old unamortized signing bonus totaled $3.534m; the total in the new contract is $5.534m. In effect, $2m of Allegretti’s 2026 base pay was converted to signing bonus, turning it into guaranteed money.
- Converting $2m to signing bonus should have left a base salary of $3.5m, but in the new contract, Allegretti gets only $1.5m base, meaning that he took a $2m pay cut for 2026.
- Since there is no guaranteed money in 2027, Washington can cut Allegretti at the end of the ‘26 season with no additional cash due, or they can choose to keep him in 2027 at a cost of $3.585m in cash.
This was a pay cut for Allegretti dressed up to look like an extension
To evaluate this fully, let’s look at the amount of cash Allegretti would have received for 2026 under his original (2024) contract and compare it to what he will receive if he plays just one season under the new (2026) agreement:
As you can see, if Allegretti is cut after the 2026 season, he will end up making $2m less than he would have if he’d played out the final year of his existing contract, indicating that playing it out was not an option. In effect, the Commanders must have arm-twisted him into accepting a pay cut by threatening to release him.
However, rather than announce it as a pay cut, as happened with Andrew Wylie a year earlier, this was dressed up as an extension or as a new 2-year deal.
A triple win for the Commanders
The reality is that this was a triple-win for the team. In return for letting Allegretti keep his job and tossing in a $2m guarantee, the Commanders saved $2m in cash this season, reduced the ‘26 cap hit by $3.3m, and secured an option on Allegretti’s services for 2027 at a known cost of $3.585m in cash.
A good day’s work by the Washington front office.
