New Orleans Saints Agree To Reworked Deal With Starting Offensive Tackle For More Cap Relief

It was one of the most anticipated contract moves for the New Orleans Saints this offseason and it looks like they handled Ryan Ramczyk's contract the right way.

NEW ORLEANS -- One thing is for sure. The New Orleans Saints are now comfortably below the salary cap ahead of the new league year deadline. Getting there came with a slew of difficult decisions. Especially so when it came to aging and injured players. But it looks like the Saints have found a creative way to navigate those situations that both frees up salary space, but also does right by the player.

Per ESPN's Field Yates, the Saints and starting right tackle Ryan Ramczyk have agreed to a reworked deal. Additional details of the new deal were shared by NewOrleans.Football's Nick Underhill as well. The deal looks to guarantee Ramczyk $6.5 million with a reduction in his base salary. It is effectively a pay cut that includes a chance to earn significant money back via escalators. In order to understand better how this deal comes together, we can explore a recent deal.

New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk (71) blocks Dallas Cowboys defensive end Kerry Hyde / Sep 29, 2019; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk (71) blocks Dallas Cowboys defensive end Kerry Hyder (51) in the second half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Firstly, a "reworked deal" is often a bit different from a typical restructure. A restructure will take a larger portion of a player's base salary and any additional bonuses (like roster, workout or option bonuses) and convert them to a signing bonus. The players lose no money this way and the same dollar amounts are paid out. However the team accounts for it in even payments for up to five years as opposed to taking the entire hit in that same year.

In a re-worked deal, often times a pay cut or even extension are included. An easy example is the recent reworked contract of linebacker Demario Davis. Intitially, Davis was a $10 million base salary and a $2 million roster bonus along with already existing prorates that would have equated to over an $18 million cap hit. Additionally, and very importantly, it was the last year of his deal.

In their re-work, the Saints and Davis agreed on an additional year in 2025 that includes a portion of guaranteed salary. In exchange to the new year and new guarantees, he accepted a lower base salary ($1.3 million) and a new signing bonus ($7.7 million) that lightened his cap hit significantly in 2024. All in exchange for future guarantees, an additional year, more total money and of course to help out his team.

It looks like something similar could be expected for Ramczyk's new deal. Originally the former Wisconsin Badger had no guarantees in his 2024 salary. That changed with this new deal. With there also being escalators (much like wide receiver Michael Thomas' 2023 deal) he has the chance to regain the upside of his contract. That escalators could be attached to play time, team success and even team and player accolades such as Pro Bowl nominations and All-Pro selections.

Here is what the final numbers for 2024 could look like, barring any additional changes or money movement that have no yet come to light. Keep in mind Ramczyk is also under contract (again without guarantees to his base salary) for the 2025 and 2026 seasons as well.

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Initial 2024 base salary: $17 million
Existing prorates from previous deal: $10,025,321
Initial 2024 cap hit: $27,025,321

New 2024 base salary: $1.21 million (veteran minimum)
Existing prorates from previous deal: $10,025,321
New prorate: $1,058,000 (if  the $5,290,000 is spread over 5 years)

New 2024 cap hit: $12,293,321
Possible 2024 cap savings: $14,732,000

We will see if that ends up being the dollar amount saved, but a typical restructure would have save just shy of $12 million. So one way or another, this is a major move for New Orleans and achieving it without kicking a ton of money down the road is a big win.

Using the projections from Over The Cap who had New Orleans $932,058 under the 2024 salary cap. This move could put them over $15 million beneath the limit and have them ready to spend as the new league year begins.

The team also has contracts for running back Alvin Kamara, offensive weapon Taysom Hill, offensive lineman James Hurst and tight end Juwan Johnson available for tinkering should they choose to open up more salary cap space.

Two-Time Super Bowl Champion Linebacker Joining New Orleans Saints Via Free Agency