Three Minnesota Vikings players have agreed to restructure their contracts in the past 24 hours.
Chad Greenway, Jerome Felton and Jamarca Sanford all reduced their base salaries in return for more guaranteed money, the cap website Over The Cap reports.
Greenway went from $6.5 to $5.5 million, but the Vikings made the entire salary guaranteed. The 31-year-old linebacker’s contract did not change for the 2015-16 season, Over The Cap says. Greenway finished the most recent season with a team-high 134 tackles – the sixth straight season the South Dakota native led the Vikings in that category.
ESPN notes he played much of the 2013 season with a broken wrist, and his play seemed to slip. The restructuring, the site says, effectively protects Greenway from getting cut.
Felton – who just signed a three-year, $7.5 million deal with the Vikings last offseason – agreed to reduce his salary in exchange for $200,000 more in guaranteed money. He also now has the right to void the final season of that contract.
Sanford, 27, recorded 75 tackles and a pass defended last year in 13 games at the safety position. He’s in the final year of his contract, which will now includes $750,000 less in salary – but $400,000 more in guaranteed money. Over The Cap says he can earn back the money through playing time incentives.
The Pioneer Press reports the Vikings saved $2.25 million by restructuring the three contracts – more money that can be used in free agency, if the team wants it. Over The Cap says the Vikings have an estimated $16.3 million left in cap space.
ESPN’s Vikings beat writer Ben Goessling had an answer when asked why these moves were made.
https://twitter.com/GoesslingESPN/status/444853577413328896
The team’s most recent spending went to wide receiver Jerome Simpson, who re-upped with the Vikings yesterday. The team also didn’t spend money on one of their own free agents, cornerback Chris Cook, who took his talents to San Francisco.
