Onwenu Takes Paycut for 2026

[PatsFan2]

Huh? He led the team in sacks, he was the best OLB on the team. He was headed towards a Pro Bowl season prior to his injury, his leg got folded in half and still didn’t end up on IR.

You have to pay your best players, they won’t play for free.

I think his Knee is cooked.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

So basically a $9 million pay cut offset by about the same in guarantees. Seems like a win-win - the Patriots now take the risk of an injury instead of the player.
Full details here:

Contract details for Mike Onwenu’s new Patriots deal

The Patriots gained $7.5 million in cap space this week.

www.patspulpit.com

 

[PatsFanInVa]

If they're going to pay Gonzalez, Maye and AJ Brown that guard spot is going to be taken by someone earning 5-6m a year tops, ideally a draft pick outside the top 3 rounds.

You know Vrabel is going to want to pay one or two guys on the DL line too so they're going to have to start moving a few of these guys like Onwenu, Spillane, Barmore, Davis who are on north of 10m a year and not really superstars, these contracts coming basically tell you we're going to be moving to a more 5/6 stars making all the money and a young cheap labor to pay for it all rather than the more balanced roster money wise now.

Maye, Gonzalez, Milton are the current 3 foundational pieces.

I had this fetish of plotting salaries in the early 2000s, with Brady (at the time) as the outlier. We started out a young team, with a hockey stick curve, when you plotted the individual salaries. Then Seymour and one or two others adjusted the curve, but (if memory serves,) the Pats still had a distinctive approach: very, very select players could play hardball back with the Pats - otherwise, we were famously "cheap" with individuals, though we spent to the cap every year. No hesitation about "omg that's the last of the 2001 receivers" or anything like that (unusual for that era.) Added to that approach, we took fliers on the head cases (first Dillon, then Moss,) then weirdly, put our own value -- a high one, for a special teams guy -- on Welker (though I might be confusing the draft capital he cost with the contract details). We made a bunch of right calls that decade, and we played the "always in contention" card for everything it was worth, which was a lot.

Then inevitably, we became more or less like everybody else, with the additional challenge of periodic confiscation of first-round and other picks.

Anyway, yes, I love seeing this, whether or not we part ways with Onwenu in future years. It's also nice to have that rookie-deal QB making noise in his second of 4-5 years. We've got the cap space to get back to the SB and win that one last game... something will stop 31 teams this year, but if we're one of them, it won't be because of cap woes.

 

[patman52]

Better it be for extending Gonzo.

I dont want him ext this offseason, I want to see him play more of the season. We have him for two more years now and can tag him after that.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

So basically a $9 million pay cut offset by about the same in guarantees. Seems like a win-win - the Patriots now take the risk of an injury instead of the player.
Full details here:

Contract details for Mike Onwenu’s new Patriots deal

The Patriots gained $7.5 million in cap space this week.

www.patspulpit.com

That site is doing a poor job. They're presenting the $7.5M signing bonus amortization that hits the cap this year like it's new money which dilutes the picture. That amount was counting and still will.

Onwenu was scheduled to have a $17.5M base salary this year. Now he has a $6M signing bonus paid up front and a $2.95M salary. So he took a $7.5M paycut. Instead of making $17.5M this year he will only make $10M.

Even though he's only making $10M, his cap number overall is still $17.5M because that original signing bonus amortization hits the cap this year either way - with or without restructure. That's the cap charge for money paid to him in the past.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

It isn't a pay cut. It is a salary tweak to reduce his cap charge for this season. He gets a new dummy year where he gets money paid up front and the Pats get cap relief. In fact I think he is actually getting more money this year since his base salary goes from $7.5 million to $2.95 million, but he is also getting a $6 million bonus.

You gotta assume this was done to do the AJ Brown trade, although I don't think they need the cap space. It also could be for Gonzalez.

Where are you seeing the dummy year reported? This does not seem to be the case. It's been reported everywhere as pretty straight forward...

Old: $17.5M base salary
New: $2.95M salary, $6M signing bonus

He takes a $7.5M paycut in actual cash and we save the same on the cap.

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

He could have said no. Could have told them to pay up or cut him.

I like that he likes his situation enough to choose this instead. Win-win.

Guessing they told him they would cut him with the contract as is. Agent probably looked around to see what was out there as a FA and they decided this was the better option than being cut and looking for a new contract now.

 

[Rob0729]

I don't think that is correct. IIRC, his salary was previously something like $16M this year. Now it is $3M. Even with a $6M bonus added on top, that is still a big pay cut.

His cap hit was $17 million. No way was he getting that much in pay in the final year of his deal. He would have had like a $30 million cap hit if he was getting $16 million in salary.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

His cap hit was $17 million. No way was he getting that much in pay in the final year of his deal. He would have had like a $30 million cap hit if he was getting $16 million in salary.

His cap hit WAS $25M prior to this paycut. It was $7.5M of amortization from his original signing bonus plus the $17.5M of current year compensation. He reduced current year comp to $10M with the paycut. So NOW his cap hit is $17.5M (still the $7.5M amortization from his original signing bonus plus the now $10M of current year comp).

 

[DCore]

That site is doing a poor job. They're presenting the $7.5M signing bonus amortization that hits the cap this year like it's new money which dilutes the picture. That amount was counting and still will.

Onwenu was scheduled to have a $17.5M base salary this year. Now he has a $6M signing bonus paid up front and a $2.95M salary. So he took a $7.5M paycut. Instead of making $17.5M this year he will only make $10M.

Even though he's only making $10M, his cap number overall is still $17.5M because that original signing bonus amortization hits the cap this year either way - with or without restructure. That's the cap charge for money paid to him in the past.

If he was making $17.5M base, plus the previous amortization, wouldn't that mean his cap hit was higher than $17.5M before the restructure?. Cap hit should be decreased by the $17.5M to the $10M he is making this year, assuming the new signing bonus is in this year and there are no dummy years

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Best guess? Pressure was applied and they basically said they will not keep him at his number. Maybe they floated out a long term deal that was turned down. I don't think it was done just for security. They have until week 1 until the money locks in, and even if an injury happens in training cap, they don't end up paying much. Now they have a year to work on a long term deal.

Doubt they offered a long term deal. You look at athletic profile and he's a clear outlier from the other 4 guys they've invest in (Campbell/Lomu as 1st rounders, Wilson as 3rd rounder and AVT in FA). Seems very clear that they would like to move to a blocking scheme that calls for more athletic OL play. That being said, Onwenu is still a good player so there was no need to let him go just to open up a whole. He's still better than the other options. Maybe they could find someone more athletic, but overall level of play matters more.

Long-term though, any extension years would cover Onwenu's 30s as this is his age 29 season. Not ideal age to sign a player for. And the desire for a more athletic OL still seems like it will be there. Just like Moses, it seems like Onwenu is a stop gap, not a long-term piece.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

If he was making $17.5M base, plus the previous amortization, wouldn't that mean his cap hit was higher than $17.5M before the restructure?. Cap hit should be decreased by the $17.5M to the $10M he is making this year, assuming the new signing bonus is in this year and there are no dummy years

Yes his cap hit was higher. It was $25M prior to this restructure. Now it's $17.5M because he took a $7.5M paycut off of the $17.5M he was scheduled to make this year.

 

[rkarp1]

His cap hit was $17 million. No way was he getting that much in pay in the final year of his deal. He would have had like a $30 million cap hit if he was getting $16 million in salary.

You should wait in the other room with Wozzy when posters discuss the cap

Onwenu was due $16m in salary this year, and his cap hit was sitting at $25m due to his pro rated bonus.
the $16m was not guaranteed. (the pro rated bonus stays with the team regardless)
Onwenu's new deal is for $3m in salary, and a $6m sign bonus (all guaranteed)

So Mike took a $7m haircut. The team saved that $7m against the cap.
There are no "void" years. There is nothing beyond this year.
I think it will be very safe to say Onwenu will enter free agency next season.
By doing this in June, Onwenu really had no place to land if he was released, with the hope to make big money. I assume he is pissed this wasn't hashed out mush sooner, when he may have had the chance to move elsewhere for more money.
Now it is on him, to go out and earn another big deal (maybe here). I assume we see a highly motivated Onwenu.

Once again, owners/management prove that the cap is crap, and they continue to manipulate it to their desire

 

[upstater1]

This is a nice development and pretty smart from Onwenu's perspective. He was a top cut candidate of mine, not because he is bad (far from it) but he is getting paid like a top guard that his performance does not match. If he got cut, other would not come close to paying what the Pats were.

Also creates more cap for for the team, now let's go get AJB and Josh Sweat

He's paid below the price of a good guard (non All-Pro level).

He was averaging $17m a year.

That's not in the top 10 anymore.

Mediocre guys like Zion Johnson and David Edwards are getting $15m per year now.

I think Onwenu would easily get $17m in the open market.

 

[Wozzy]

I think his Knee is cooked.

Thanks Doc, no doubt you’ve seen his xray and made a solid diagnosis.

How good was Stefon Diggs knee last season in comparison?

 

[Rob0729]

Yes his cap hit was higher. It was $25M prior to this restructure. Now it's $17.5M because he took a $7.5M paycut off of the $17.5M he was scheduled to make this year.

Ok, if I am wrong, I stand corrected.

 

[Wozzy]

You should wait in the other room with Wozzy when posters discuss the cap

It’s a good thing your brain is so spacious, both BB and myself can live comfortably in here… and there’s room for more.

Once again, owners/management prove that the cap is crap, and they continue to manipulate it to their desire

The Browns want your advice on how to rid themselves of Deshaun Watson’s cap charge.

Onwenu was in the last year of his deal, they didn’t use magic powers. This is how NFL contracts are structured and negotiated.

 

[Rob0729]

You should wait in the other room with Wozzy when posters discuss the cap

Onwenu was due $16m in salary this year, and his cap hit was sitting at $25m due to his pro rated bonus.
the $16m was not guaranteed. (the pro rated bonus stays with the team regardless)
Onwenu's new deal is for $3m in salary, and a $6m sign bonus (all guaranteed)

So Mike took a $7m haircut. The team saved that $7m against the cap.
There are no "void" years. There is nothing beyond this year.
I think it will be very safe to say Onwenu will enter free agency next season.
By doing this in June, Onwenu really had no place to land if he was released, with the hope to make big money. I assume he is pissed this wasn't hashed out mush sooner, when he may have had the chance to move elsewhere for more money.
Now it is on him, to go out and earn another big deal (maybe here). I assume we see a highly motivated Onwenu.

Once again, owners/management prove that the cap is crap, and they continue to manipulate it to their desire

The cap isn't crap. You can do a lot to manipulate it, but there are limits. With the new broadcasting contracts, the limits are far greater than they were in the past. But it doesn't change the fact that there are still limits to what you can do with the cap. Otherwise, teams with tons of money and not afraid to spend would buy contenders.

And if Ownenu took a pay cut, that is not proof that the cap is crap. If the cap is crap, why would they need Owenu to take a pay cut to get more cap space. They could just manipulate his money without reducing his salary. If he took a pay cut, it doesn't prove the cap is crap. In fact, it supports the opposite.