Packers create cap space by adjusting Rashan Gary’s contract

Green Bay turned Gary’s roster bonus into a signing bonus, which spreads his cap hit over multiple seasons.

On Monday night, one day before the NFL scouting combine kicks off, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that the Green Bay Packers had freed up $4.78 million in 2024 cap space by reworking the mechanics of defensive end Rashan Gary’s contract. Previously, Gary was due a $6.2 million roster bonus on March 15th. The Packers went ahead and gave him that money early, in the form of a signing bonus, which now allows that cap hit to be spread out over four seasons (2024-2027).

Along with Gary’s converted roster bonus, the team also converted $175,000 of his 2024 salary into a signing bonus, per Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac. Over the next four seasons, the Packers will now carry a $1.59 million cap hit each year for the $4.78 million flexibility that they’ve created for this upcoming offseason.

This shouldn’t be too surprising of a move, as Gary is one of the cornerstone players of the team. If you’re going to push anyone’s cap hits forward, it was probably going to be him, considering the longevity of his contract, his age and his level of play.

General manager Brian Gutekunst didn’t shy away from the idea of using “all in” cap methods on this team going into the 2024 offseason, either. In his end-of-season press conference, he stated that the Packers would create short-term cap space in the form of conversions, which then creates long-term cap commitments, if they can add the right veterans either via free agency or the trade market.

From a cash perspective, Gary’s situation has not changed in 2024. He will still be due the original $9 million this year that he was slated to be owed when he signed his extension in 2023. The only difference is that the 2025-2027 Packers will also be paying a share of Gary’s 2024 effort.