John Cominsky takes pay cut, saves Detroit Lions significant cap space

Detroit Lions defensive lineman John Cominsky appears to have taken a reduction in salary to stick with team in 2024.

Last month, we wondered aloud whether the Detroit Lions could make a move regarding the contract of defensive end John Cominsky. Last year, the Lions signed Cominsky to a two-year, $8.5 million deal, but the veteran defensive end had a down year on the field. With his cap hit jumping from just $2.3 million in 2023 to $6.2 million in 2024, it was fair to wonder if the Lions were going to restructure his deal or even possibly release Cominsky.

It appears the Lions went with option A. As first pointed out by JBILL on Twitter, salary cap website Over The Cap shows new contract numbers for Cominsky that suggest the veteran defender took a pay cut for the 2024 season. Take a look:

Original contract:

2024: $5M base salary, $1.2M prorated signing bonus, $6.2 million cap hit

New contract:

2024: $2.5M base salary, $1.7M prorated signing bonus, $4.2 million cap hit

In short, the Lions reduced Cominsky’s salary by $2 million. For his troubles, the Lions took an additional $500,000 from his salary and converted it into a signing bonus, which Cominsky gets immediately. In other words, $500,000 of his unguaranteed salary became an immediate, guaranteed bonus.

The move immediately creates an additional $2 million in cap space for the 2024 season, and Cominsky remains off the books in 2025 and beyond. If Detroit decides to part ways with Cominsky before the 2024 season begins, he’ll still only count $1.7 million in dead cap, which would give Detroit $2.5 million in additional cap savings.