One of of the reasons the New York Giants have been scrambling for salary cap space this year is that they overspent the past few years on free agents that haven’t moved the needle for them.
Last year, the Giants signed wide receiver Kenny Golladay $72 million over four years with $40 million guaranteed. Truth be told, other teams wanted him but not at that price. Golladay was coming off an injury-shortened season and was in line for more of a ‘prove-it’ deal but the Giants felt he was worth franchise-level money.
Of course, Golladay got hurt — twice — and was never a significant factor in the Giants’ pop-gun offense. The player who led the NFL in touchdown receptions just two season before scored zero last season.
This year, the Giants had little latitude when it came to Golladay’s contract. With a dead cap charge of over $28 million this year, the Giants were forced to leave it alone.
It's a good day to be Kenny Golladay (most days are good after you sign a $72M contract). His $4.5M roster bonus for *2023* becomes fully guaranteed today.
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) March 18, 2022
After this season, Golladay’s contract becomes a bit more palatable. His dead cap number in 2023 is just over $10 million, followed by $6.8 million in 2024 and $3.8 million in 2025.
Of course, Golladay’s deal would even be more palatable if he stepped up and became the ‘go-to’ wideout they hoped he could be. But as it stands now, this will be his ‘prove-it’ year. The way the college game is grooming wideouts these days, the position has become so rich and fluid teams would rather take their chances with rookies.
