The Lions have used a salary cap mechanism (50% down rule). It seems to be something that Brandon Sosna is using in contracts. It was used last year with Graham Glasgow, this year with Davenport and now apparently with Davis’ contract.
Article 13 - Salary Cap Accounting Rules, Section 6 - Valuation of Player Contracts (b)(iii)(5) - The difference between the Salary in the second contract year and the first contract year when Salary in the second contract year is less than half the Salary called for in the first year of such Contract;
So for Davis, the calculation would be as follows: $6,000,000 (restructured signing bonus) + $8,000,000 (2024 base salary) + $352,941 (Likely To be Earned Per game roster bonus ($500K * 12/17)) - $1,255,000 (2025 base salary, yes there is an amount included even though it is scheduled to void) = $13,097,941 signing bonus for cap purposes or $3,274,485 per year for the four years.
So cap hit for 2024 would be $3,274,485 SB Proration plus his minimum base salary $1,255,000 = $4,529,485 and currently $9,823,456 2025 dead cap.
We can do the same thing for Davenport. $2,500,000 (2024 Base Salary) + $3,000,000 (2024 Roster Bonus) + $150,000 (2024 Workout Bonus) + $200,000 (Likely To Be Earned Per Game Roster Bonus ($850,000 * 4/17)) - $1,255,000 (2025 Base Salary) = $4,595,000 or $2,297,500 for the two years.
So the cap hit for Davenport would be $2,297,500 Signing Bonus Proration plus his 2024 minimum base salary $1,125,000 = $3,422,500 and $2,297,500 Dead Cap.
As a result, the Lions gained another $5.3M when OTC revalued Davis’ contract for the above. Remember, we aren’t saving money we are just pushing some of the cap hits to future years.
