Simply earlier than Thursday’s NFL season opener between the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens on GEHA Area at Arrowhead Stadium, we realized that Kansas Metropolis had given backup tight finish Noah Grey a three-year contract extension price $18 million — together with $10.1 million assured.
The small print of that contract at the moment are obtainable. In accordance with the salary-cap web site Spotrac, the previous Duke tight finish’s new deal has some similarities to the latest extensions given to placekicker Harrison Butker and heart Creed Humphrey. Like each of these, it supercedes the ultimate yr of Grey’s rookie contract and offers him a considerable pay increase for the approaching season — whereas decreasing his present cap hit.
Grey’s rookie deal was going to rely $3.2 million towards the cap in 2024, together with a $3.1 million base wage and $78,000 from the pro-rated signing bonus of his rookie deal. The extension pays him $7.1 million in 2024. That comes within the type of a $1.1 million base wage — the minimal for an NFL participant with three credited seasons — plus a signing bonus of $6 million. However since that signing bonus will be unfold throughout 4 seasons at $1.5 million annually, his 2024 cap hit falls $550,000 to $2.6 million.
In 2025, Grey’s base wage rises to $3 million (with a $100,000 exercise bonus). In 2026 and 2027, will probably be $4.7 million (with $250,000 for exercises). In these final two seasons, he additionally has a per-game roster bonus of $30,000, which provides one other $510,000 to his potential earnings — and makes his cap hit $7 million in each of these seasons.
However he would possibly by no means attain these contract years. Whereas his base salaries in each 2024 and 2025 are assured, the Chiefs will solely be on the hook for his $1.5 million pro-rated signing bonus cap cost in 2026 and 2027.
So similar to the earlier contracts for Butker and Humphrey, the typical annual worth (AAV) of Grey’s deal will in all probability proceed to be perceived as larger than it truly is. Spotrac has it listed at $6 million AAV as a result of it added $18 million in new cash over three extra years. However what’s truly occurred is that Grey and the crew tore up the ultimate yr of his earlier contract, making a brand new one which pays him $5.3 million AAV over 4 years — and it’d find yourself paying him even much less: simply over $5 million AAV over two years.
Together with the one-year contracts for working again Samaje Perine (a 2024 cap hit of $1.5 million that features $290,000 assured) and defensive sort out Marlon Tuipulotu ($1.1 million), we now estimate that the Chiefs have $5.7 million in cap house.
