Report: Lions restructure Taylor Decker's contract to create needed cap space

Butting up against the salary cap heading into the 2022 season, the Detroit Lions executed a simple restructure of offensive tackle Taylor Decker's contract to create the necessary operational space for the months ahead, according to an ESPN report.

A common practice in the NFL, the Lions converted a portion of Decker's 2022 base salary to an immediately paid bonus. While salary counts against the cap the year it's paid, a bonus is evenly distributed over the remaining years on a contract. 

In this instance, the Lions converted $6 million of Decker's $14.75 base salary to a bonus. That $6 million is spread evenly across the remaining four years remaining on the player's deal, including an automatically voidable year in 2025. That means only a quarter of that $6 million counts against the cap this season, freeing up $4.5 million in space in 2022. 

It subsequently adds $1.5 million to Decker's cap hit in 2023, 2024 and 2025. The restructure lowers his 2022 cap hit to $14.4 million, and it is now scheduled to be $19.35 million in 2023 and $19.1 million in 2024. 

The $15 million average value of the four-year extension Decker signed in 2020 remains unchanged by the restructure. That average currently ranks 22nd among offensive tackles. 

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Justin_Rogers