Colts restructure Matt Ryan's contract to reportedly open up $6 million in cap space
INDIANAPOLIS — The details are still emerging on the changes the Colts made to the contract of new starting quarterback Matt Ryan.
When Indianapolis traded a third-round pick to Atlanta on Monday in order to land Ryan, the Colts also altered the final two years of the quarterback’s contract, adding more guaranteed money to make it clear Ryan will be in Indianapolis at least two years.
Indianapolis also reportedly freed up roughly $6 million in salary cap space by the move. According to an ESPN report, the Colts converted roughly $12 million of the money Ryan is owed in 2022 into a signing bonus, a mechanism that spreads the cap hit out evenly over the rest of the years remaining on a contract.
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By pushing $6 million of Ryan’s cap hit into the 2023 season — when Indianapolis is expected to enter the offseason with an enormous amount of cap space again — the Colts increased their available salary cap space to roughly $22 million, according to NFL Player’s Association records.
But it remains unclear exactly how the Colts restructured Ryan’s contract. Per the deal he’d signed with the Falcons, Ryan was supposed to make $17,205,882 in base salary in 2022, along with a $7.5 million roster bonus that should have been paid on Tuesday, Ryan’s first day as a Colt.
Based on ESPN’s report, Indianapolis either converted $12 million of Ryan’s base salary into a signing bonus — the simplest way to do it — or converted a portion of both his base salary and roster bonus.
Ultimately, how the Colts accomplished the change is a matter of accounting. The end result is that Ryan reportedly counts $18,705,882 against the cap this season, and based on his Falcons contract, he should count roughly $35,205,882 against the cap in 2023, which still puts him firmly in the middle of the skyrocket quarterback salaries around the NFL.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts restructure Matt Ryan's contract to open $6 million in cap space
