The Detroit Lions took the value route in free agency this offseason, with the majority of their contracts signed at or under one-year, $2 million deals. There was a batch of late Lions free agent signings that hadn’t been announced with contract details. But on Tuesday morning, those contract deals were made public on salary cap sites OverTheCap and Spotrac.
Let’s break them down individually and explore what it means for both the Lions and the player:
QB Teddy Bridgewater contract details — One year, $1.8 million
- Base salary: $1.4 million (fully guaranteed)
- Signing bonus: $187,500
- Game roster bonus: $212,500
- Cap hit: $1,800,000
A pretty straightforward deal for Bridgewater,
who should be fully expected to be the team’s backup quarterback, unless something unexpected happens during draft week. For comparison’s sake, Bridgewater’s $1.8 million cap hit ranks 57th among all NFL quarterbacks, sandwiched between Bills’ backup Kyle Allen and Patriots’ Tommy DeVito.
G Ben Bartch — One year, $1.215 million
- Base salary: $1.215 million ($330,300 guaranteed)
- Cap hit: $1,075,000
Bartch’s contract is relatively straightforward and at the veteran minimum for a player of his experience.
Detroit is utilizing a common salary cap trick called the Veteran Salary Benefit, which allows a cap hit to be lowered for a veteran player signing a one-year deal. While Bartch is a veteran with six years of credited seasons (veteran minimum salary of $1.215 million), his cap hit reflects that of the minimum salary for a two-year player ($1.075M). He got some reassurance in Detroit in the form of $330,300 in guaranteed salary, but that’s far from enough to guarantee a roster spot in a crowded interior offensive line room.
DB Avonte Maddox contract details — One year, $1.4875 million
- Base salary: $1.3 million ($500,000 guaranteed)
- Signing bonus: $187,500
- Cap hit: $1,262,500
Maddox, too, is only receiving the veteran minimum salary, and Detroit is using the Veteran Salary Benefit again. This stipulation also allows an additional $187,500 in compensation on the deal (unused in the Bartch deal), which the Lions are giving in the form of a signing bonus.
This deal indicates there likely wasn’t much of a market for Maddox, who signed several weeks after free agency opened. It’s also quite possible Maddox didn’t want to leave his hometown of Detroit.
But given his contributions last year, this is certainly a valuable re-signing by Detroit, though the contract terms certainly allow them to move on if he doesn’t win the competition in a crowded nickel/safety room. The $500,000 in guaranteed salary, though, could give him some breathing room.
S Chuck Clark contract details — One year, $1.4875 million
- Base salary: $1.3 million
- Signing bonus: $50,000
- Roster bonus: $112,500
- Workout bonus: $25,000
- Cap hit: $1,262,500
The overall value of this contract is identical to that of Maddox, and they’re using the same Veteran Salary Benefit to save some cap space. However, the $187,500 of bonuses is spread out through a signing, roster, and workout bonus—indicating he’ll have to work for that extra money, while Maddox gets it all upfront. And with none of his salary guaranteed (compared to $500,000 for Maddox), it’s clear his path to the 53-man roster will be tougher.
