After months of questions and speculation, Allen Lazard has finally signed his second-round restricted free agent tender and is going to play for the Green Bay Packers in 2022 for $ 3.986 million. That was the obvious part.
First, it was improbable that a team would give Lazard a contract the Packers would refuse to match, plus be willing to pay Green Bay a second-round pick. Then, the time for other teams to give him an offer sheet had passed. Therefore, Lazard’s only option was to play for the Packers. The delay to sign the tender was just a matter of possible negotiations for a new contract, and also a way for him to not attend mandatory minicamp without fines.
Now, here comes the tough questions. The first one is if the Packers will restructure Lazard’s current deal in order to open up cap space this year. And the second one is if the team considers a long-term extension to secure the wide receiver services for future years – something that can be more important after trading Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders and losing Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency. So, let’s take a look at the possible scenarios.
1) Keep it as it is
The Packers are in a relatively comfortable situation cap-wise this year. If the idea is to keep this roster and there isn’t any major free agent addition left, Green Bay can easily enter the season with the current $ 17 million in cap space to operate in-season minor moves, such as placing injured players on IR and promoting practice squad players. It’s even possible to sign one or two inexpensive outside free agents.
That decision wouldn’t open up any cap space this year and it would keep Lazard’s hit at $ 3.986 million. The good news is that there wouldn’t be any dead money left for future seasons, so the Packers would have total flexibility to give Lazard a new contract or let him leave without remnants.
2) Restructure
If the Packers want to open up cap space this year in order to make a big move and the parties don’t want to reach a long-term agreement, it’s possible to formulate a contract restructure.
The Packers could reduce Lazard’s base salary to the minimum of $ 935,000. Then, they would convert the remaining $3.051 million into a signing bonus. Adding four void years, Green Bay could prorate this amount, opening up $2.44 million in cap space this year. The problem, though, is that the prorated amount would count towards the 2023 salary cap, unless the player and team reach an extension before the void date. In this case, the prorated amount will remain stretched, but it would still be extra $610,000 per year for the next four seasons in cap hit.
3) Extension
The third option is to give Lazard a long-term extension. This scenario could also be used to lower his cap hit this year, while guaranteeing his presence on the roster moving forward. According to Spotrac, Lazard’s current market value is a $ 7.7 million average per year (on a 3-year, $ 23.26 million total deal).
For Lazard, though, it doesn’t make that much sense to sign this deal now, considering he will have a chance to be a primary receiving option this year and go to the market next offseason as an unrestricted free agent. Therefore, the Packers would have to pay a little more in order to satisfy these circumstances. Maybe a 3-year, $ 27 million contract ($ 9 million per year) is a solid enough offer.
As always, the Packers wouldn’t give the player any guarantee beyond the first year. The new $ 27 million would be added to the current $ 3.986, so it would be in reality a four-year, $ 30.986 million deal. His signing bonus could be around $ 10 million, the same value Nelson Agholor got from the New England Patriots with similar previous production.
2022
Signing bonus: $ 2 million
Base salary: $ 935k
Cap hit: $ 2.935 million (1.051M in cap savings this year)
2023
Signing bonus: $ 2 million
Roster bonus: $ 4 million (this part could be converted into a signing bonus to prorate it again)
Base salary: $ 1.1 million
Cap hit: $ 7.1 million
2024
Signing bonus: $ 2 million
Base salary: $ 7 million
Cap hit: $ 9 million
2025
Signing bonus: $ 2 million
Base salary: $ 7.951 million
Cap hit: $ 9.951 million
2026 (Void year for cap purposes)
Signing bonus: $ 2 million
While there is merit to the extension idea, it probably is better for both sides to let this year play out. For the Packers, because they will have more data and film to evaluate Lazard’s value – and also more information about the young receivers’ impact. For the player, he will have a chance to put up career high numbers and go to the market without restrictions to extract the highest possible value.
Photo: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
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Wendell Ferreira covers the Green Bay Packers for Zone Coverage and Cheesehead TV. He is a Brazilian journalist with over a decade of experience covering the NFL, soccer, NBA, and MMA. Follow him on twitter at @wendellfp