Report: Jaguars restructure three contracts, create over $26 million in cap space

According to a report from ESPN's Field Yates, the Jaguars have created $26.14 million in 2023 cap space by converting a total of $32.657 million of base salary into signing bonuses for wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones along with guard Brandon Scherff.

The Jaguars needed to get under the salary cap prior to March 15, the start of the new league year. The moves made Tuesday should give the team plenty of breathing room.

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Prior to restructuring the three contracts, Jacksonville was $12,417,686 over the cap, according to OverTheCap.com, meaning they'd need to clear at least that in order to be compliant with league mandates.

With the additional cap space created Tuesday, the Jaguars are slated to be $13,722,314 under the cap with the ability to create more space with other moves in the coming days.

The Jaguars also gave defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris a three-year contract extension, creating more cap space, however, the details of the deal have not been revealed and his contract was not calculated in the cap figure.

Note: The current salary cap figure does not include the team's latest extensions (quarterback C.J. Beathard and running back JaMycal Hasty), nor does it include the contract for WR Calvin Ridley, who has yet to be reinstated by the league.

All three players — Kirk, Jones and Scherff — were signed with the team during last year's free agency process.

Kirk signed the largest contract, a four-year, $72 million pact with $37 million fully guaranteed. His base salary for 2023 was set to be $15.5 million.

Jones signed a three-year, $24 million contract with $14 million fully guaranteed. His base salary was set at $7 million, while Scherff signed a three-year, $49.5 million contract with $30 million in guaranteed money. Scherff's base salary was set to be $13.5 million in 2023.

Prior to restructuring, Kirk was set to count $23 million against the salary cap in 2023, the highest among players on the team. His number, according to OTC, is now at $11,464,000.

Jones was set to count $7 million against the cap, but now holds a figure of $5,817,921, while Scherff was set to count a whopping $20 million against the cap, which is now at $10,666,667.

Now, all three players will get their cash just a bit sooner while offering the Jaguars some relief prior to free agency.

Last week, the Jaguars freed up $10.336 million in cap space by restructuring the contract of linebacker Foye Oluokun.

The team also gave two-year contract extensions to both Beathard and Hasty.

The Jaguars have several players slated to become free agents, including tight end Evan Engram, right tackle Jawaan Taylor and defensive lineman Arden Key. The moves made Tuesday make it a bit easier to retain their services if they are able to come to agreements.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars create over $26 million in cap space with three moves