Player's Contracts

[TheRainMaker]

Not sure if this is common knowledge, but the Patriots have an "out" as far as not having to pay Brown any money if we part ways at that time. But, with how Roseman structured his contract, we would have to eat all of his void year option bonuses (2030-2033) which equates to about $53M if we cut him. Unless, we decide to decline the current year option bonus and take a $27.45M cap hit this year and keep it off the future void years. We easily have the ability to do this, but the decision obviously has to be balanced against other potential free agent moves we're considering this year, and what we think of Brown's health/future (the other option would be to consider a contract extension in a few years).

From what I understand, that $53M only kicks in if he's kept through 2029 and the Pats exercised his option bonuses each year.

'If the Patriots plan to keep Brown through 2029 and exercise each of his option bonuses, then they need to plan ahead, because they’ll be hit with a $53.52 million cap hit in 2030."

If 2026 is a complete disaster and he's cooked like Smith-Shuster was, the Pats would have their "out" and cut Brown outright taking on only a $4M dead cap hit. They wouldn't be responsible for anything else as there is no more guaranteed money. However, as Kyed mentions, "It would not be ideal to cut him after the 2027 season before the Eagles even use the 2028 first-round trade chip they acquired in the deal."

I agree with Kyed and think it will come down to a year by year basis on what they will do.

Kyed: A.J. Brown’s contract is a bargain for the Patriots, but will it stay that way?

A.J. Brown’s contract is a relative bargain for the Patriots. But how long will it stay that way?

www.bostonherald.com

 

[mikey m]

From what I understand, that $53M only kicks in if he's kept through 2029 and the Pats exercised his option bonuses each year.

'If the Patriots plan to keep Brown through 2029 and exercise each of his option bonuses, then they need to plan ahead, because they’ll be hit with a $53.52 million cap hit in 2030."

If 2026 is a complete disaster and he's cooked like Smith-Shuster was, the Pats would have their "out" and cut Brown outright taking on only a $4M dead cap hit. They wouldn't be responsible for anything else as there is no more guaranteed money. However, as Kyed mentions, "It would not be ideal to cut him after the 2027 season before the Eagles even use the 2028 first-round trade chip they acquired in the deal."

I agree with Kyed and think it will come down to a year by year basis on what they will do.

Kyed: A.J. Brown’s contract is a bargain for the Patriots, but will it stay that way?

A.J. Brown’s contract is a relative bargain for the Patriots. But how long will it stay that way?

www.bostonherald.com

Hmm I certainly like the sound of that better and still trying to wrap my head around contracts and these option bonuses specifically.
I think the specific rule is that every dollar we pay Brown must be accounted for in the cap at some point. So maybe we are both kind of right? This year we actually pay Brown $29M but he only carries a $7M cap hit. So I believe, to simplify it, around $22M gets pushed into future void years (assuming we exercise that option) and if we cut him next year we would have the Dead Cap ($4M) + this unaccounted for Option Bonus ($22M) = $26M?

Edit:
Per AI, for what it's worth:
The Post-June 1 Relief Valve
If the Patriots do decide to move on after this season but want to protect their 2027 cap space, they can label his release a Post-June 1 Cut.

• 2027 Dead Cap: Only $9.49 million (The $4M guarantee + just one single $5.49M year of the option bonus proration).
• 2028 Dead Cap: The remaining $16.47 million of the option bonus acceleration gets kicked into the following year's budget. [1, 2]