Packers Create $8.3M Of Cap Room By Reworking LT David Bakhtiari’s Deal

Ian Rapoport reports that the Green Bay Packers created about $8.3 million in cap space by converting the $11 million roster bonus of LT David Bakhtiari into a signing bonus and spreading it out over the length of his contract.

The expectation all along was that the Packers would rework Bakhtiari’s deal for cap space before the start of free agency, so this isn’t a huge surprise. 

Even so, it’s interesting timing considering that the Packers have been mentioned as a potential landing spot for free agent DT J.J. Watt. 

Bakhtiari suffered a season-ending ACL tear towards the end of the 2020 season. 

Bakhtiari, 29, is a former fourth-round pick of the Packers back in 2013. He was in the final year of his five-year, $53.34 million contract that included $16 million guaranteed and set to make a base salary of $10 million for the 2020 season when he agreed to a four-year extension worth up to $105.5 million extension last year. 

Bakhtiari’s contract included a $30 million signing bonus and another $30 million-plus available in March roster bonuses in the first few years of the deal. 

In 2020, Bakhtiari appeared in 12 games for the Packers, making 12 starts for them.