Chiefs create $9.6 milllion in cap space with contract restructure, per report

Kansas City makes an unexpected move to clear cap space.

According to a report from ESPN’s Field Yates, the Kansas City Chiefs have created $9.6 million in cap space by converting some of guard Joe Thuney’s 2022 base salary into a signing bonus.

This is essentially an accounting move. Under the contract he signed a year ago, Thuney was due a base salary of $14 million in 2022. Under salary-cap rules, all of a player’s base salary each season is included in their cap hit. With this move, all but $1.035 million of that salary (the NFL minimum for a player with Thuney’s experience) is immediately paid to him as a signing bonus. Then the cap hit for that money may be spread across this season and the three remaining years of his contract; in essence, 75% of that $12.9 million ($9.7 million) no longer counts against the 2022 salary cap.

The portion of Thuney’s yearly cap hit that is attributed to signing bonuse will now rise from $3.4 million to $6.6 million.