Finally, is Sanders’ previous contract. Salary cap rules stipulate that there is no way to avoid the signing bonus owed to Sanders from the previous contract. Meaning that Sanders will get his $1.9 million a year regardless of whether he signs a new contract or leaves the team. If he gets cut, the total sum of the remainder of his previous signing bonus will count against the team’s salary cap in the year he is cut, which will likely cost the team a bigger cap hit than if they renegotiate his contract and sign him to a minimum deal with incentives. Any new signing bonus would be split over the duration of the new contract — so if Sanders signs a 4-year deal with a $400,000 signing bonus, that is $100,000 a year.
All of these elements must be considered, although a new contract is not likely to be worked out completely until the major aspects of the CBA have been fully worked out. If there is not a cap, then the team has less to worry about and can do what they please with the way the incentives are listed.
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