Atlanta Falcons: 5 contract restructures that need to happen in 2021

Five contract restructures that the Atlanta Falcons need to make happen in 2021

The Atlanta Falcons have got some work to do to get underneath the salary cap for the 2021 season and it’s clear they’ll need to make some moves to get there.

The Falcons are currently sitting at around $198.4 million in total costs when you add salaries with dead money and that is $18.4 million over the NFL’s salary cap minimum for 2021. At this point, we haven’t heard what the maximum number for the salary cap will be, but one NFL executive told the Denver Post they expected the cap to be around $188 million.

If that is the case- or if that number is relatively close- the Atlanta Falcons would be about $10 million over with just 39 players on the active roster.

So, how do the Falcons find their way out of debt and make room to sign several free-agents and draft picks this coming season to fill out their roster? One big way is through contract restructures.

Here’s a look at five contract restructures that the Falcons need to make and what the likely savings of those deals would look like. (Projected restructure savings numbers are from Sports Talk ATL)

5. DL Grady Jarrett

• Restructure savings: $6.3 million

Grady Jarrett has two years remaining on his contract and this season will see him with a $20.8 million hit to the cap, according to Spotrac.

If the Falcons choose to restructure, they would be staring at quite the payday for Jarrett next season (he is already slated to have a $23.8 million hit to the cap next season), but it may be worth it in terms of implications having to do with this year.

This is one that you might see restructured if the Falcons need a little extra cash to bring in a piece that they might not have enough money for otherwise.