BOCA RATON, Fla. – Desperate for salary cap space, the Jets restructured the contract of guard James Carpenter.
They created $2.46 million in cap room by converting $3.69 million of his $4.45 million base salary into a signing bonus, according to a source. The move lowered his base salary to $760,000 this year. The move increases Carpenter’s cap number in 2017 and 2018 to $6.76 million, a jump of $1.23 million.
The move makes sense for the Jets because Carpenter had an impressive season in his first year with the team and is only 27. A contract restructure like this is commonly called a “credit card” in the NFL because you’re pushing the charges back, but in this case the Jets must feel confident they want him around through 2018.