Details on Saints' Forster Moreau Contract

The Saints stick to their practices with another team-friendly contract structure in the signing of tight end Foster Moreau

There are very few things that are more enjoyable when it comes to covering the New Orleans Saints than contract structures. New Orleans marches to the beat of its own drum as a city, and so too does its representative NFL franchise when it comes to the salary cap. On Wednesday, the Saints signed New Orleans-native and former Las Vegas Raiders tight end Foster Moreau to a three-year deal. Here is what you need to know about the contract, its structure and the team's 2023 cap situation.

Sep 15, 2019; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders tight end Foster Moreau (87) before the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at the Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

The overall structure of the deal is simple. Moreau was signed to a three-year contract with a total value of $12 million. Of that, $8 million is guaranteed. That means that Moreau is effectively a surefire rostered player for the next two years in New Orleans. But the contract is structured in such a way that while the average annual value may be $4 million, Moreau's cap hit will be far less in 2023.

Per ESPN's Field Yates, the Saints gave Moreau a $3.5 million signing bonus. These signing bonuses are prorated evenly over the lifespan of the contract as annual cap hits as opposed to a fully accounted-for charge right away. The Saints then added two void years to the three-year deal, allowing them to spread the signing bonus prorate out over the maximum of five total seasons. That amounts to five annual charges of $700,000.

New Orleans then reportedly gave Moreau a $1.1 million base salary in 2023. Combine that with the signing bonus prorate and the team's new tight end will only cost $1.8 million against the cap in 2023. 

Dec 26, 2021; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders tight end Foster Moreau (87) catches a pass against Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson (22) from Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) during the second half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The contract structure is very similar to recently signed running back Jamaal Williams. He too was signed to a three-year, $12 million deal, but was given a signing bonus of $3.9 million instead. After his signing bonus and $1.1 million base salary are accounted for, the team then split the remaining money evenly into 2024 and 2025 base salaries and two small roster bonuses.

New Orleans will likely do the same with Moreau. So expect his 2024 and 2025 cap hits to be likely just above Williams' which fall just below of $4.7 million.

The other nuance to remember here is that NFL teams are currently building 90-man rosters. During the offseason, not all 90 will count against a team's salary cap. Instead, only the 51 largest cap hits do. That means anytime a new contract is signed above that threshold, an old deal is pushed out. This will happen with Moreau as well.

Moreau's $1.8 million cap hit is above the top-51 cutoff, meaning his contract pushes another contract out, lessening the change in overall salary cap. With Moreau's deal knocking a $940,000 hit out of the accounting range, the difference is just $860,000. Not a bad investment to make for a sought-after free agent who helps the team address their biggest remaining need.

OverTheCap.com had New Orleans with over $16.5 million of cap space remaining. After the rookie class is signed and accounted for, that number is expected to hover around $13 million. Add in Moreau's manageable hit and the Saints should be sitting pretty with another $11 million or so to spend in rounding out their roster this offseason or to carry into the 2023 regular season.