Report: Seahawks Restructure G Gabe Jackson's Contract, Create Cap Relief
With the trade deadline quickly approaching and the team needing a bit of financial cushion for the rest of the season, the Seahawks reportedly have restructured the contract of veteran guard Gabe Jackson.
Per Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com, Seattle created $1.76 million in additional space by converting $3.5 million of Jackson's 2022 salary into a signing bonus prorated over the remainder of his contract. The 31-year old guard was one of only six players with a base salary north of $2.5 million and three of those players were in the final year of their contract, complicating restructuring options.
Prior to restructuring Jackson's deal, the Seahawks had slipped below $2 million in effective cap space and per Fitzgerald, they were likely being proactive about creating extra space to help cover for practice squad elevations and injuries for the remainder of the season rather than opening up room for a potential trade. The organization finds itself in a tough spot in large part due to the $26 million dead cap charge on the books after trading away quarterback Russell Wilson in March.
In total, with Wilson's contract accounting for roughly half of the charges, Seattle currently has $51 million in dead cap money. On the plus side, the franchise has only $5.8 million in dead cap hits in 2023 accounting for void years on Carlos Dunlap and Chris Carson's prior contracts.
Acquired from the Raiders prior to the 2021 season for a fifth-round pick, Jackson signed a three year, $22.575 million contract with the Seahawks that included a $9 million signing bonus. After this season, he will have one year left on the contract with a base salary of $6.5 million, a cap hit of $11.62 million, and a prorated bonus of $4.762 million in 2023.
Since arriving in Seattle, Jackson has started 21 out of 22 regular season games at right guard and struggled with consistency. Per Pro Football Focus, he has allowed 14 pressures, three quarterback hits, and a sack on 170 pass blocking snaps this season and has yet to be penalized. In 2021, he yielded four sacks and 37 pressures on 574 pass blocking snaps and received a decent 64.3 run blocking grade.
If Seattle decides to move on from Jackson in the offseason by cutting or trading him, they would now absorb a slightly larger $4.762 million dead cap hit and create $6.5 million in cap space after the restructure.
