Last week it was reported that the Detroit Lions and linebacker Jamie Collins agreed to restructure his contract and now the details on this deal have become public.
Collins’ original base salary for 2021 was $8.8 million, but it was reduced to $3.8 million by converting $5 million into a prorated bonus. The Lions then added three automatically self-voiding years after the two remaining actual years on his contract, which allows them to equally spread the $5 million over five years—adding $1 million dollars to each year.
So, while the Lions save $5 million in base salary, they also take on $1 million as part of the new prorated bonus, giving them a total saving of $4 million in 2021.