The Kansas City Chiefs used a unique NFL contract quirk on OL Nick Allegretti to save some money against the salary cap.
The team re-signed the 27-year-old backup offensive lineman on a one-year deal worth $2.582 million fully guaranteed, but as we predicted, that won’t be the number Allegretti costs against the salary cap. The team used a type of veteran salary benefit to help lower the cost of Allegretti’s cap hit in 2023, but this one is a type that isn’t too often used because it’s only applicable to a specific group of players.
The Chiefs used the four-year qualifying contract on Allegretti, which is essentially a qualifying offer like the ones that you’d see with NFL’s restricted free agents or exclusive rights free agents. It can only be given to players who’ve been on a 90-man roster with a single team for four or more years.
This specific contract is given to NFL players with four credited NFL seasons, but it allows teams to incur a salary-cap charge for a player with just two years of accrued service time. In the case of Allegretti, that means his contract only counts $1,232,500 against the salary cap in 2023.
Teams are permitted to use the four-year qualifying contract on two eligible players each year, but I’m not certain that Kansas City will go that route after having seen this particular contract. It’s possible they used it on Derrick Nnadi as well, but we’re still awaiting those contract details. However, the team can still use other veteran salary benefits to help save a bit against the salary cap during the 2023 NFL season on other signings, if they so choose.
