Linebacker A.J. Klein has stayed in the NFC South, but he has moved from the Carolina to New Orleans. He’ll be getting paid pretty well to do it.
Per a source with knowledge of the contract, Klein will make $15 million over three years in New Orleans.
Technically a four-year, $24 million contract, the 2020 salary of $9 million voids if he’s on the roster the last day of the 2019 league year. Which means that it’s a phony year that was added to drive the average per year from $5 millions to $6 million.
The package includes a $5 million signing bonus, a fully-guaranteed base salary of $1.7 million in 2017, a base salary of $4.1 million in 2018 ($3.7 million of it is fully guaranteed), and a base salary of $4.1 million in 2019.
He has a $400,00 roster bonus due on the 15th day of the 2019 league year, and up to $400,000 in 2019 per-game roster bonuses.
The deal also has $100,000 workout bonuses in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
As a practical matter, it’s a two-year deal, $10 million deal with a team option for 2019 at $5 million — if he plays in all 16 games.