By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
On Friday morning, Field Yates of ESPN reported that the Eagles had restructured the deals of Nigel Bradham and Chris Long..
Source: the Eagles adjusted the contracts of DE Chris Long and LB Nigel Bradham, creating $5.032M in 2019 cap space. Howie Roseman is always creative with the cap.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 15, 2019
The moves save $5.032 in cap space, according to yates.
However, breaking it down further reveals some light on what really happened.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Chris Long restructure was simply moving a roster bonus.
#Eagles DE Chris Long was due a roster bonus, but he didn’t feel comfortable taking it now – since he hasn’t yet made a decision about his future – so it was moved to after the draft, an NFL source said. That was the restructure @FieldYates reported.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) March 15, 2019
Long was due a $2 million roster bonus that would have been official and put that money in his dead cap hit if he then chose to retire. Since he is not sure about his future yet, he moved the bonus until after the draft to give himself more time to decide while also ensuring his dead money did not rise if he chose to retire.
The move may indicate that Long wants to see what players the Eagles draft (and how they’d impact the amount of snaps he’d see) before committing one way or the other.
Long did say that he loves Philadelphia though, so the decision is purely about his usage and interest in playing.
I love Philly so much. The fans, all of it. I’m making a football decision, though. Money moved doesn’t mean it’s been made. Thanks though.
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) March 15, 2019
it is unclear if that $2 million being shifted is counted in Yates’ $5.032 million number, so, to be on the safe side, the Eagles true cap savings may only be $3.032 million from Bradham’s deal as Long returning would still vest Long’s roster bonus cap hit, this move simply delays it from taking affect.
For Bradham’s restructure, Yates seems to believe that the veteran is taking a pay cut.
Pretty sure it involves a pay cut for Bradham.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 15, 2019
On Bradham’s current deal, the linebacker carried a $9 million cap hit (base salary of $8 million) and the Eagles could save $3 million by moving on from him.
The team could also save $6 of his $9 million cap hit in 2020 and $7 of his $9 million cap hit in 2021, so this new deal may guarantee Bradham more money and give him a better shot at sticking with the team for the next few seasons.
Taking the conservative $3.032 cap savings number, the Eagles should still have plenty of room to add free agents.
Eagles Salary Cap Transaction Table
| Transaction | Salary Change | New Cap Space |
|---|---|---|
| Cap Space as of February 25, 2019 | – | $3,613,815 |
| Eagles Extend Brandon Graham | +$3,500,000 | $113,815 |
| Eagles Decline Tim Jernigan’s Option | -$7,000,000 | $7,113,815 |
| Eagles Extend Jason Kelce | -$4,000,000 | $11,113,815 |
| Eagles Extend Isaac Seumalo | +$800,000 | $10,313,815 |
| Lane Johnson Restructures Deal | -$8,200,000 | $18,513,815 |
| Eagles Trade Michael Bennett | -$7,200,000 | $25,713,815 |
| Eagles Sign Jason Peters to One-Year Deal | -$2,000,000 | $27,713,815 |
| Eagles Decline Wisniewski’s 2019 Option | -$3,000,000 | $30,713,815 |
| Eagles Tender Nate Sudfeld | +$3,095,000 | $27,618,815 |
| Eagles Sign L.J. Fort | +$1,410,416 | $26,208,399 |
| Eagles Sign Malik Jackson | +$7,200,000* | $19,008,399 |
| Eagles Acquire/Extend DeSean Jackson | +$7,000,000* | $12,008,399 |
| Eagles Restructure Nigel Bradham’s Deal | -$3,032,000* | $15,040,399 |
* – Indicates number is a projection and not yet official
With around $6.5 million needed to sign their draft picks this offseason, the team should have $8.5 million in cap space at a minimum as my cap savings for the Bradham restructure are the low estimate and may cap hits for DeSean and Malik Jackson are high estimates.
Update: The space saved on Bradham’s restructure is $4,365,000. The Eagles figure to have around $6 million to use in free agency following the Ronald Darby deal.
