Examining the salary cap impact of the Lions releasing Cam Sutton

Taking a detailed approach to explaining the salary cap ramifications of the Detroit Lions releasing Cameron Sutton.

On Thursday, the Detroit Lions released corner Cameron Sutton from his contract with the team, amidst his serious legal trouble including a warrant for his arrest. The move removes a starter from the roster but also leaves behind a complicated situation on the salary cap—and one that won’t be immediately resolved.

To fully understand the financial impact of the Lions releasing Sutton from the roster, you need to know a few basics about how NFL contracts work, and then we’ll dive into the details of the Lions’ options.

A player’s contract has a “base salary” which has the potential to have guarantees built into it. Teams can reward players with additional contractual items, including a variety of bonuses. Some bonuses carry guarantees—the most common being a “signing bonus”—but most do not. Sometimes players have “voided” years added onto their deal (that extend beyond the length of the deal) which are used to spread out certain cap hits—like a signing bonus.

If we look at Sutton’s remaining contract (below), we can see several key parts of his deal were still guaranteed (Note: a number highlighted in green indicates it is guaranteed).

Basically, of the $29.75 million remaining on Sutton’s contract, $19.22 million was guaranteed.

Guarantees are important for teams to show trust in a player, but there is also a downside to over-guaranteeing. The biggest downside of guarantees is that if teams wish to move on from a player, they incur a cap penalty for the total amount of all the remaining guarantees.

That means, with the Lions releasing Sutton, they are—for the time being—on the hook for $19.22 million in cap penalties. And because cap penalties are all due once a player is released, the Lions will take on that amount immediately.

Fortunately for the Lions, there is a league rule in place to help teams manage large cap penalties, called the June 1st designation. This rule affords teams the opportunity to spread out the cap penalty over two seasons to allow for salary cap relief. An unfortunate limitation of this rule is that teams must carry their cap penalty until June 1st, which will limit the team’s ability to spend money during free agency.

The Lions took advantage of the June 1st designation when they released Sutton and spread out his cap penalty over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Here’s how the cap penalties are distributed:

Note: There was a report from ESPN’s Field Yates indicating the Lions would free up $1.5 M this season, but I don’t believe he was accounting for the $1.5 M that recently became guaranteed on March 16, which is why my numbers above show no cap relief.

On the surface, the Lions appear to be significantly penalized as a result of the actions of Sutton, but here again, there are personal conduct rules put in place by the NFL and NFLPA that can aid the Lions in getting compensation.

The Lions have requested the NFL to void the base salary of Sutton’s contract due to his conduct. The NFL will now initiate an investigation into the Lions’ claim, and if they deem that Sutton has indeed violated the League’s code of conduct, Sutton’s guaranteed base salary will be credited to the Lions.

As it appears Sutton is in violation, once the League rules on the matter, the results of Sutton’s contract will look like this:

If the League rules quickly, these changes could theoretically be put in place before the 2024 season begins.

From an NFL salary cap standpoint, this is the extent of what the Lions can do, for now. They will incur a cap hit in the next two seasons, most likely in the manner illustrated above.

But the Lions are not out of legal options in attempting to recoup all or a portion of the remaining $8.72 M signing bonus—which was already paid to Sutton when he signed in 2023. Essentially, if Sutton is convicted of his alleged crime, the Lions could sue him over breach of contract. However, this process typically takes several years before it is resolved.

TL:DR Summary

The Lions released Cameron Sutton with a June 1st designation, spreading his cap penalty out over two seasons. For now, the Lions are on the hook for a $12.68 million cap hit in 2024. The Lions petitioned the NFL to void Sutton’s base salary for violation of player conduct, which will likely reduce the Lions’ cap penalty to $2.18 M at some point in 2024. The Lions will incur a $6.54 cap penalty in 2025, regardless of the NFL’s ruling. Additionally, the Lions can attempt to recover the $8.72 M that has already been paid to Sutton, but they would need to sue him after the legal process plays out in his criminal case.