Packer Central

Updating Packers’ Cap Space With Contracts for Aaron Banks, Nate Hobbs

How much money do the Green Bay Packers have to spend after agreeing to terms on four-year contracts with Aaron Banks and Nate Hobbs at the start of free agency?
Bill Huber|
The Green Bay Packers huddle up during their game against the Saints.
The Green Bay Packers huddle up during their game against the Saints. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – After agreeing to big contracts with guard Aaron Banks and cornerback Nate Hobbs at the start of NFL free agency on Monday, the Green Bay Packers had approximately $29.1 million of salary cap space on Wednesday morning, according to OverTheCap.com.

For what it’s worth – and it’s not worth much because contracts are being inputted as they become available, so everything is subject to change – the Packers rank 19th in available cap space. Plus, they have a number of avenues to create additional space, including the presumptive release/trade of Jaire Alexander and simple contract restructures.

The Packers and Banks agreed to a four-year contract worth $77 million that included a $27 million signing bonus. His Year 1 cap of about $9.03 million ranks eighth on the team. The highlights:

2025: $1.5 million base salary.

2026: $7.7 million base salary, $9.5 million roster bonus that’s due on Day 3 of the league-year and a cap charge of $24.85 million. The Packers could release him and save $4.6 million.

2027: $5.1 million base salary, $9.5 million roster bonus that’s due on Day 3 of the league-year and a cap charge of $22.25 million. The Packers could release him and save $8.75 million.

2028: $13.1 million base salary, no roster bonus and a cap charge of $20.75 million and a cap charge of $22.25 million. The Packers could release him and save $14 million.

This is really a year-to-year contract with Banks, who was good but not great during his three seasons as the 49ers’ left guard. The Packers could save money by moving on after 2025, though it would leave behind an unpalatable $20.25 million of dead cap.

The Packers and Hobbs agreed to a four-year contract worth $48 million that included a $16 million signing bonus. His Year 1 cap of approximately $5.99 million ranks 10th on the team. The highlights:

2025: $1.2 million base salary.

2026: $1.8 million base salary, $6.25 million roster bonus that’s due on Day 3 of the league-year and a cap charge of $13.05 million. The Packers could release him and save $1.05 million.

2027: $9.05 million base salary, no roster bonus and a cap charge of $14.05 million. The Packers could release him and save $6.05 million.

2028: $9.7 million base salary, no roster bonus and a cap charge of $14.7 million. The Packers could release him and save $10.7 million.

It’s a year-to-year deal for Hobbs, too, the talented and versatile but injury-prone defensive back, though the cap savings would be small and he’d leave behind $12 million in dead cap if the Packers were to move on after one season.

For both players, the Packers could have inserted void years at the end of their contracts, which would have spread the signing bonus out over additional seasons for cap purposes (but left lingering cap money after the contracts’ expiration), but did not.

The Packers are in good shape financially for the upcoming season, which perhaps is why they are taking their time with Alexander. At minimum, they’ll be almost $36.0 million under the cap once they move on from the former All-Pro cornerback.

Hefty roster bonuses coming due in the next couple days for Rashan Gary ($8.7 million), Xavier McKinney ($8.5 million), Kenny Clark ($7.5 million) and Josh Jacobs $5.93 million) could be restructured into signing bonus, which would help with this year’s cap at the expense of hurting future caps.

The Packers will face some challenges next offseason, though. In 2025, Banks and Hobbs have a combined cap charge of about $15 million. In 2026, that will soar to $37.9 million. With other increasing salaries, the Packers, once they fill out a 51-player offseason roster and sign their draft picks, are projected to be just $6.15 million under the cap. Only three teams are in worse shape. That number, however, includes Alexander’s contract.

While general manager Brian Gutekunst has plenty of money to dive back into free agency (or swing a big trade for Trey Hendrickson), he might want to leave behind a big chunk of salary-cap change for contract extensions or to carry over to future years.

More Green Bay Packers News

Published | Modified
Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.