How does Michael Bennett's restructured deal impact Patriots' cap?

Patriots' defensive lineman Michael Bennett agreed to a reworked two-year deal with a base value of $16.75 million, including a $4 million signing bonus, it was reported Tuesday morning. Per the report from Field Yates of ESPN, "Bennett gets guaranteed money and more upside, while the move creates $700K in cap space for the team in 2019."

So how does this impact the 2019 and 2020 salary cap space numbers for the Patriots?



Before this restructure, Bennett's 2019 cap number was $7.2 million. It consisted of:

• $6,200,000 salary


• $1,000,000 (16 $62,500 46-man active roster bonuses)

• $7,500,000 salary


• $1,000,000 (16 $62,500 46-man active roster bonuses)

• $3,000,000 salary


• $2,000,000 signing bonus proration of 2019 four million


• $1,500,000 (16 $93,750 46-man active roster bonuses)

• $7,000,000 salary


• $2,000,000 signing bonus proration of 2019 four million


• $1,250,000 (16 $78,125 46-man active roster bonuses)

• Bennett gets $4 million now rather than over the early part of the 2019 regular season.


• Further solidifies his roster spot.


• Increase Bennett's 2019 cash intake from $7.2 million to $8.5 million.


• Remove Bennett's sacks incentives from deal.


• Move some 2020 cap space into 2019 by increasing Bennett's 2020 cap number while also decreasing his 2019 cap number.

Question: What is your current Patriots 2019 salary cap space number?