DeForest Buckner, a defensive tackle, signed a contract extension with the Indianapolis Colts on Monday. The extension added two years to Buckner’s existing contract, extending his stay on the open market until the 2027 offseason. Buckner was originally scheduled to become a free agency following this upcoming season.
This decision was in line with the Colts’ offseason strategy of keeping its players instead of concentrating on adding new ones. But after examining the contract in more depth, Over The Cap claims that Buckner’s extension sets it apart from all other deals on the Colts roster.
Buckner’s updated agreement drastically reduces the amount he was originally expected to command against the salary ceiling for the upcoming season—$22.75 million to $8.35 million. In order to do this, the agreement was amended to include two vacant years.
Given that Buckner’s new contract is the only one the Colts have that has vacant years, Colts supporters can afford to be ignorant of the concept. As a way to stretch out signing incentives over a longer time frame and alleviate the immediate financial load, they are essentially stand-in years. This is different from the Colts’ prior deal approaches and suggests a more careful reevaluation of the team’s financial stance under Chris Ballard.
These empty years are giving Buckner cap relief for this particular season. After two seasons of $26.6 million apiece, his cap hit in 2024 will be $8.35 million. Once Buckner’s deal ends in 2027, either he resigns or his contract is altered before then, an additional $7.2 million will count against the cap.
After making this move, the Colts’ remaining cap space increased to an anticipated $28.4 million from 14. million prior to the transaction. This amount still gives the Colts plenty of room to make more roster adjustments if they so choose, with about $6 million going toward the incoming rookies who will be chosen at the end of next week.
The Colts have not operated with as little available space under Ballard as they did prior to this extension, so it’s possible that this contract structure just gives the Colts the flexibility to take advantage of a move that may present itself, either this offseason or after the season has begun, instead of creating space in anticipation of an impending roster move.
However, there were alternative approaches of releasing cap space for flexibility that would not include deferring payment responsibilities to later years. It makes sense for supporters to be curious about what could happen next because this kind of action contrasts so sharply with the Colts’ recent contract management practices.
