There’s one big item off the to-do list: the New Orleans Saints restructured their contract with defensive end Cameron Jordan to save $10 million in salary cap space ahead of the start of free agency, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Saints are still over the cap by roughly $16 million so more work needs to be done before the cap-compliance deadline on Wednesday.
Jordan will carry a cap hit of about $15.7 million after redoing his deal, but he could leave behind as much as $15.3 million in dead money if he isn’t re-signed after the 2023 season. He’ll celebrate his 34th birthday this summer before entering the final year of his contract.
But Jordan isn’t sweating it. This will work itself out one way or another. These annual restructures have just become part of his routine.
“I feel like this sort of happens every year at (this) point,” Jordan told CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson while vacationing with his family in Spain.” It’s a standard if you look at my contract. if you think about it, this could all be negated if players had fully guaranteed contracts. Either way, I’m not sure of the specifics on how it helps them with the cap. All I know is that it helps the team, and I get a guaranteed year going into the final year of my dead. We’ll take that every time.”
Jordan became the Saints’ all-time sacks leader in 2022, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer and “Dome Patrol” legend Rickey Jackson with a three-sack performance against the Philadelphia Eagles. He’ll be playing for the Saints again in 2023, but what happens after that is anyone’s guess.
