MARCH 12th, 7:09pm: Palmer’s restructuring is official, according to Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic (on Twitter). Palmer will have his $9.5MM roster bonus converted to a roster bonus and the Cardinals will pick up $7.1MM of space.
MARCH 6th, 6:31pm: Palmer has agreed to restructure his contract. He’ll convert his $9.5MM roster bonus to a signing bonus, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. Weinfuss further tweeted that the restructuring of Palmer’s contract will accompany a $7.38MM cap number for next season. That’s a significant drop-off from the $14.5MM of cap room Palmer was expected to take up in 2015.
MARCH 5th, 6:36pm: In terms of cap space, the Cardinals place in the bottom half of the NFL with about $14.5MM to spend as free agency approaches, and with several free agents to re-sign and other need areas to fill, the club could be looking for some additional wiggle room. With that in mind, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reports (via Twitter) that Carson Palmer is willing to restructure his contract in order to give the Cards a bit more financial flexibility.
There was a bit of confusion regarding Palmer’s agreeing to a restructure, as Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweeted earlier today that the veteran quarterback had agreed to tweak his contract a month ago. Somers clarified, however, adding that although Palmer has spoken with general manager Steve Keim and technically “agreed” to the restructure, the move won’t take place unless Keim decides the Cardinals need the space. In other words, Palmer has provided the club with a money-saving “bullet” that it can use at its discretion.
The 35-year-old Palmer signed a three-year, $50MM extension with the Cardinals last November, under the terms of which he’ll earn a $1MM base salary and a $9.5MM roster bonus in 2015 — both figures are guaranteed. As Somer notes (Twitter link), Arizona could convert Palmer’s roster bonus to a signing bonus, spreading the money out over the next few years and bringing his 2015 cap figure down from $14.5MM to $7.1MM, saving the club $7.4MM in the process.
The Cardinals have already been active this offseason, agreeing to a new deal with Larry Fitzgerald that will keep the veteran receiver in Arizona through 2016. The club might also look to retain free agents such as Antonio Cromartie and Dan Williams, and are believed to be interested in upgrading the running back position.