Packers voided contracts deliver a significant hit to salary cap

The Green Bay Packers had no choice but to kick the financial can down the road in previous offseasons, and they continue to pay the price for it.

An unexpected salary cap decrease in 2021 forced teams, including the Packers, to make necessary adjustments. It didn't help that they were coming to the end of Aaron Rodgers' Super Bowl window. Green Bay restructured several contracts and added void years. It saved money in the short term but meant adding dead cap hits even after players were no longer on the roster.

The Packers are in a healthier cap situation this offseason, but they are still feeling the effects of contract restructures.

According to ESPN's Rob Demovsky, the Packers will eat $9.48 million in dead money in 2024 after three contracts voided.

Darnell Savage, Yosh Nijman, and Keisean Nixon are free agents, but the Packers previously added void years to their contracts to save cap space in the short term. Green Bay had to work out extensions before February 19 to spread out the cap hits from those void years. They didn't, which means all that money accelerates into the 2024 salary cap, whether they re-sign with the Packers or not.

Let's break down how it impacts the Packers' salary cap.

How voided contracts impact Packers salary cap in 2024

Just like that, the Packers have almost $10 million less cap space to work with. But it didn't catch them off guard—they knew it was coming.

It leaves them without much flexibility, for the time being, at least. According to Over The Cap, the Packers are now $5.2 million over the 2024 salary cap, assuming the total number is $242 million. The exact NFL salary cap has yet to be finalized. NBC reports it could increase to as high as $250 million, which would help the Packers.

Green Bay is set to pay at least $15.1 million in dead cap. Here are the figures:

• Darnell Savage: $5.5 million
• Rasul Douglas: $5.1 million
• Yosh Nijman: $2.5 million
• Keisean Nixon: $1.5 million
• Matt Orzech: $200,000

And more dead money is on the way. If the Packers release David Bakhtiari, they will pay $19.1 million in dead money, although it would create $21 million in cap space.

Through a combination of releases, extensions, and restructures (pushing the can further down the road), the Packers can comfortably get under the cap and give themselves enough room to sign their draft class and make moves in free agency.

However, adding almost $10 million in void provisions is less than ideal.

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