The five-year, $40 million contract extension signed earlier this week by Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap loads nearly half the money into the first eight months of the deal. The cash flow gets manageable after that, and the cap dollars never get out of control.
Based on a breakdown of the deal obtained by PFT, Dunlap received an $8 million signing bonus. He’ll also pocket a $3.7 million reporting bonus and a $1.3 million base salary in 2014. That’s a total first-year payout of $13 million.
On March 31, he’ll receive a $5.7 million roster bonus, pushing his earnings to $18.7 million between now and April Fool’s Day.
Next year, the base salary is $1 million, with a $300,000 workout bonus. Over the final four years of the deal, there’s an annual $300,000 workout bonus, with base salaries of $3 million in 2015, $4 million in 2016, $5.05 million in 2017, and $6.7 million in 2018.
The cap numbers are $6.9 million in 2013, $8.6 million in 2014, $4.9 million in 2015, $5.95 million in 2016, $6.95 million in 2017, and $7 million in 2018.
The dip in the cap number from 2014 to 2015 suggests that the Bengals are thinking ahead to the second contracts to be given to receiver A.J. Green and/or quarterback Andy Dalton, both of whom are signed through the 2014 season. (The Bengals hold an option on Green for 2015.)
Of course, there’s a chance that either or both guys will want new deals after the 2013 season, when they’ll be eligible for second contracts.
It’s not as if the Bengals are hurting for cap space. They currently have $15.5 million in room, and any that remains after 2013 can be carried over to next year.