Report: Buccaneers Free Up Cap Space by Restructuring Ali Marpet's Contract
Per ESPN's Field Yates, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have restructured Ali Marpet's contract, creating around $4 million in cap space for 2021.
It's the second time in the past year that Marpet has been willing to restructure his deal. Per Spotrac, Marpet converted $5.5 million of his salary into a bonus, which helped the Bucs clear $4.125 million in cap space last October. Marpet originally signed a five-year, $54.125 million contract extension with the Bucs back in 2018.
Per Yates, $5 million of Marpet's salary will be converted into a guaranteed roster bonus. The Bucs also added two void years to his deal -something that's become the norm recently- which helps open up the $4 million. As a result, Marpet's cap charge increases by $1 million per year over the next four years.
Per Over The Cap, the Bucs were dead-last in cap space before the restructure. Spotrac has them at No. 31. The key with both websites is both have the Bucs over the cap by a certain amount.
That's not a good situation to be in and prohibits the Bucs from making any necessary, substantial roster moves, hence the decision to get this done.
The obvious connection with all of this is the recent reports -and the Bruce Arians confirmation- surrounding the Bucs and cornerback Richard Sherman. The All-Pro corner will likely require more than $4 million in salary, but the Bucs can tack on void years in order to help offset the increase in salary.
It'll be interesting to see if this is just a move to get back under the cap and have some roster flexibility or if it's the catalyst in making a move like signing Sherman.
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