The Miami Dolphins and right tackle Austin Jackson agreed to a new contract on Wednesday, giving the Dolphins the salary cap space they need ahead of the start of the new league year. The team has to be below the $301.2 million cap by 4 p.m. Eastern today, when the new league year begins.
There are several moves Miami is expected to make as free agency officially begins in the new league year, including releasing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and linebacker Bradley Chubb and signing quarterback Malik
Willis and kicker Zane Gonzalez. Those moves may not happen immediately after 4 p.m. Eastern, but they should happen in the near future, and the move with Jackson will provide the space the Dolphins need in a year in which they are tight against the cap.
Austin Jackson signs one-year contract to provide Dolphins with salary cap space
Jackson’s new deal moved the salary money he was set to earn into a signing bonus, providing him with guaranteed money while providing the team with cap space. Jackson was going to have a $15.8 million hit to the cap, but will now have a $6.9 million number.
If Miami had released Jackson, he would have provided around $2 million in cap relief.
How did the Dolphins create nearly $9 million in cap space?
To create almost $9 million in space, Miami gave Jackson a $4.25 million signing bonus, along with a veteran minimum $1.3 million salary. The Dolphins added four void years on the back end of the contract, allowing the team to spread the signing bonus over those years for accounting purposes this year.
What does this mean for 2027 and Dolphins’ dead money?
The issue will be next year, when Jackson will account for a nearly $13 million cap hit in dead money. Of course, Miami can re-sign their 2020 first-round pick to a long-term extension to erase those void years at some point.
