Giants Sign Riley Dixon to a Contract Extension

Why the timing was right and what's the effect on the salary cap?

The Giants signed punter Riley Dixon, who is having the best year of his career, to a three-year contract extension worth $8.7 million.

Dixon was to earn a $720,000 base salary this year. The specific breakdown of Dixon's deal weren't immediately available. Still, Dixon will see one-third of whatever his signing bonus is this year since the signing bonuses take effect as soon as the contract is signed.

So let's say, for example, Dixon's signing bonus was $1.25 million (that number based on Steelers punter Jordan Berry's contract, which is similar number wise to Dixon's new deal.

If that were the case, Dixon would only cost the Giants, who per the NFLPA public cap report are listed with $1,007,815 in cap space, an additional $375,000 in "new money" against their 2019 cap, making him a low-cost signing and making the timing of the deal calculated.